


The Calm of Greece

by AnaJo_Skylark



Series: Capital Series: Side Stories [7]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-09 05:25:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 37,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13474593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaJo_Skylark/pseuds/AnaJo_Skylark
Summary: Feriah Polat has seen things that many can never imagine.  Torture and death of so many people that it plagues her very mind.  She saves so many from the hell she knows that's out there yet cannot escape her own, until the women come to her mind. So many questions and wants to have unanswered but when she is sent to Greece for another assignment, she finds herself swept in the history of the women, and a man that seems to calm her very mind.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hetalia characters belong to their rightful owner as the plot and new characters are my own.

Patience. That's what was killing her. Waiting for the call to take action and do what was needed. She truly didn't need to wait, had no reason to yet the more time slipped by, the more the children were in danger and that was making her more pissed off by the minute.

Zamir gave her a glare as she saw the men walk by, laughing at each other as the rest laid within the building. She glanced back over at him, watching as he gave a warning to her and to stay where she was. This was bullshit. There were children in there, soon to be sold off and used for god knows what and they were wasting time on Yusuf and Ilir to get to the loading points with the trucks. Raja was a sitting duck within the damn place as she tried to bait what she could out of the building. So why the hell were they outside waiting like dogs?

Feriah mentally counted the men she saw earlier as she checked the number of bullets in her gun and in the holster. She had to be fast and precise about each move she made, had to be silent and unseen. Unless shit hit the fan, then it was all out war.

Two more left the building as the chirp of the headset gave way to the men, stating that the trucks were ready for delivery. Now it was time. With a wave of his hand, Zamir and her quickly flew into the building, checking every corner and door they came across.

"Remember, three holding cells on the second floor and another at the bottom, each should contain about ten kids if not more. Get them to the doors and make no noise." he ordered.

"Got it." she replied just to feel a hand land on her shoulder.

"I mean it." he hissed in her ear, "I don't want a repeat of Almaty."

"The bastard veered in and started screaming." Feriah defended herself, "If it wasn't for that, I would have been fine."

"You are just too-"

"Enough you two." she heard Father Jabari over the radio, "Just get the children and get out, end of the mission."

Zamir shook his head at her as he moved back to his position. With a quick sight of her gun, she was off. Searching the halls for any sign of life and men they missed outside, she scurried as fast as she could, hoping to hear the familiar sounds of whimpers. 

Her heart raced as she flew around the place, checking door after door, praying that they didn't miss the date of shipping. Finally turning a corner, she heard it. Tiny whimpers of children as older ones tried to calm the little ones down, knowing the cost if they were heard. She paused for a moment, looking up and down the hall, hoping that she didn't miss a thing. With a quick kick, the door flew open, making the children cry out in fear as she came in.

"La tukhafini, 'ana huna lilmusaeadat." she told them in a hushed whisper.

Only then did they realize that she wasn't one of them. Tears fell passed their eyes as she gathered them all together, Feriah laid her hand on the oldest looking one as she nodded to him.

"'ayn albaqiata?"

"'iilaa hunak." he told her as he pointed to the door.

Of course, she chose the path to the basement, now let the nightmares begin. She gave him quick directions to find Raja and get to the trucks as she grabbed the others. He took off with the others, trying their best to keep quiet and escape hell, just for her to face her own.

"Alright Feriah, you can do this." she coached herself as she opened the door, "Just like the ones at home."

Slowly, she descended the stairs, cautiously checking everything before her as she tried to calm her mind. The musty smell of decay and blood hit her as rattling caught her ears, yes there were children in this hellhole. Once down, she made her way over to the sounds as she tried not to imagine the site she couldn't see. Her light was dim but enough to see the door from the stairs, and that's where she kept it. She could hear little whispers within, sharp Arabic to be silent. A world she knew too well of. 

Cracking open the door, she let her light peer in as she saw ten dirty, scared faces looking at her in horror. No matter how many times she did this, whatever nation or continent of a foreign language, she would never get used to that sight of children so afraid that their hearts could just stop. Opening the door wider, she showed herself as she explained to them what was happening, yet they didn't move.

"Ma hu alkhata'a?" she asked them.

The littlest girl raised her hand, pointing behind her as it trembled with fear. It was then Feriah realized her mistake. Twisting around, she saw a large man hiding in the corner, knife pointing at her as a sick grin came to view. 

He dodged at her, trying to take her out yet he had no way, she was trained way too well. With a turn of her shoulder and a lift of her leg, she dropped him on the floor as she twisted the hand that held the blade in a sharp manner.

"Tashghila, aintaqal alana!" she shouted at the children as she pinned him down.

She held him down as long as possible, trying her best to make sure the children all escaped, leaving her with the big ugly brute. He threw her off as the final child escaped, pinning her to the dirty floor as he held the knife above her throat. He was strong, more than she thought at first, but she was wiser. With a quick movement of her knee and arm, she found herself free and kicked him back to the floor, yet he was back up again as he raised the knife over his head.

Before she realized, four bullet wounds formed on the man as she held her gun up in defense. The radio was going mad with the gunshots heard as Raja gathered the children out of the building and Zamir searched for any stragglers and herself.

"Bok." 

Fuck, she messed up again. Gathering her wits and items, she flew up the stair and down the hall as more voices filled the air.

"Feriah, get moving!" she heard Zamir on the radio.

"I am moving!" she shouted back only to pause when she heard a faint cry.

Zamir came to her sight as she looked down the hall, "Don't even we don't have-Feriah!" 

She dodged into the room where it came from, just to find an infant within, it's tiny fist balled tightly as it cried its lungs out. Without hesitation, she gathered the baby and ran out the door as more gunshots echoed the hall as he shot more men coming their way. Finally outside, the ran up over the hill and under the wire as men scavenged the land of them. Feriah didn't stop, couldn't. It felt like her own escape all those years ago as she got herself into the truck.

The heavy vehicle lurched forward as the other went speeding forward. No words needed to be said as she held the baby close to her. The child's face dirty and smudged with what seemed to be blood, her heart ached as she searched the one bag she knew would be there. Her fingers gripped the plastic bottle, giving her a quick sigh of relief as she gave the baby what it wanted most.

"You do realize what you could have done, Feriah?" she heard Father Jabari ask.

"I am aware, but I couldn't stop. It happened before I realized it."

"Another episode?"

"I was fighting to get those kids out of that hellhole and he was hiding in the room, doing god knows what to them. All I focused on was getting them out."

"You could've cost the-"

"Mission, yes I know." she sighed as the baby calmed down.

"Yet you got them all out along with an extra it seems." he smiled as his hand rested on the blanket, "God has plans for you, child."

"Always does for the strongest, yes?" she smiled lightly, thinking of her parents.

"They would be happy of you. Not your recklessness but how you do whatever it takes to save others from the world you all escaped." he told her.

"I know." the familiar burning hitting her eyes.

"Well, speaking of that, there is another ring we have found. This one not far from the sea, nor your home nation."

Now that caught her attention, he normally wouldn't bring up birth places unless it meant something serious, "What are you getting at?"

The old man sighed, "I was speaking with leaders of this nation and they believe that there is a slave-ring being run around the Mediterranean and with that, there is no one else that knows the nation better than-"

"No." she cut him off, knowing what he was angling for.

"Feriah, please. Just go for the sake of the children." he pleaded, "I know you dream of the nation. It was always there for you and you were giving those dreams for a reason, act upon it. You never know what could be out there."

"Oh, I know what's out there. Rapists, pedophiles, murderers, conmen, sadistic pieces of shit that hurt others. I know what's there."

"Feriah, you are the only one I really trust for this."

"Why not Raja?"

"I got in enough trouble for sending her as is."

As is? "What do you mean?"

Father Jabari sighed, "She's pregnant."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, she and Ilir are expecting. So it's why I'm asking you." his dark eyes begged her. "Feriah."

Her head met the back of the seat, the sights of the women and times not her own flashed before her eyes as the hellish nightmare came to her as well. It was always there, no matter what the cause or time, only this time, she actually could find some answers.

"Fine." she sighed, "I'll go to Greece and get the ring to end. Then I'm back at base."


	2. Chapter 2

Peace and quiet. That's all he took in. The sounds of nature rolling by as he laid there within the sun, basking in it to be precise. How calm and inviting to just lay down and relax, taking in what he could before having to go deal with politicals.

Hercules let his mind wander past that as a set of tourist walked by. Carefully, he watched them from under the hat, seeing how they marveled over the landscape of Lycabettus Hill. A small chuckle left him, they think it pretty now, they should have seen Greece in its prime.

Ah yes, how those days would venture back to his mind. The days he remembered his mother and all that she would give to her lands and people. How she tried to set so many things straight but with most Ancients, things faltered and then crumbled before they had a chance. Every battle and war crossed his mind, each empire before him as he raised up on his own, it was those things that kept him the way he was. Didn't help that Sadiq would also play trick or more on him at times, so it was always best to keep a clear eye out for anything.

The vibrations in his pocket killed his mood, knowing what it was that the device rang. Sitting up, he pulled out his cell, seeing the president's number displayed before him.

"Geiá sou."

"Hercules," he heard the man say, "Would it be possible for you to come to the main building for a moment?"

Hercules groaned, he knew it would be coming, he tried to clean up the messes at hand yet Genesis was getting quite dirty at the moment. 

"One minute and I'll be there."

"Kalós." then the line was silent.

Well so much for relaxing. Making his way down the hill, he ventured his city, enjoying the sights that it had gained over the years, new and old blending together in a strange yet unique harmony that just fit in his nation. There was little in his mind that didn't make sense of the nation or its people. Always viewed down upon at times as other nations called him lazy. Lazy, what a word. He wasn't lazy, laidback yes but not lazy. He knew all too well what was in his lands, ran it to be safe at times when he felt something was off. He was always one step ahead.

Another vibration caught his attention, this time a simple message, one that got him to smile. Sweet Habibah and Neema smiling at the camera as Habibah held up the little black and white sonogram. He could see Dryas in the back smiling along with them as he too was waiting like him. The thought of a capital came back to him. There was someone out there, dreaming of Greece and himself, or living wars and more. His mind wondered what they would be like and who they saw. so many histories live in his lands, it was just something at awed him.

Finally, at the building, he made his way to the president's office, hoping to get whatever he wanted over with so he could be left in peace. He dreaded the thought of Genesis, for that would take up not just his day, but the whole week. But upon entering, he only saw him and a man within.

"Hercules, glad you made it." his president said.

He gave a nod as his eyes landed on the man, who was he? Dark skin covered him as his beard held grays and whites within it, his eyes were dark with a history that seemed he did not want to relieve yet did when he closed his eyes. Something was up and he was out of the loop with it.

"I called you here for a reason, that being the news of the kidnapping of children within all of Greece, I know you are aware of that."

Oh that, yea he knew, "I am. I have been trying to deal with it and Genesis at the same time."

"And I'm thankful for that, but now you have some help." he nodded to the man.

He looked over at him as the man held out his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Father Jabari."

Hercules shook his hand, "Same. So you are to help me with the kidnappings."

"Yes and no." his African accent catching him, "I am getting your help here, I am just making sure that I have the right location."

"Well, that you do." he sighed.

"Please understand, what my people are doing is finding these children and more, and right now, you have a forming slave-trade in your nation."

Slave-trade? His minded whirled back to his mother's years, seeing the men, women, and children in chains, being sold to people or for sport. Was that happening again, or worse?

"It is what we do. We have stopped at most thirty rings since I began this group, including the most recent one between the Armenian/Iraqi border. The one before that, between the USA and the Canadia."

He heard of them, how men were luring young kids away from family and teenagers to parties and more just to take them away. Alfred and Linta were happy that it was finally settled in their lands.

"Then you can shut this down with your personnel?" he asked.

"Very much so?" the man said, "I am sending my best over here to search and target what we need. She is the best that I have."

"Good." Hercules nodded, "Then I will let her do what-"

"Please, before I do this, I want to ask something." he interrupted him."

He nodded to the old man, watching as he looked at the president and then to the doors, "All I ask is for you not to shoot me."

Now Hercules was warry, "Why say that?"

"Word of a tale, and if I think correctly, you are the embodiment of Greece."

A calm anger rolled through him, he knew what he was and that enough was to set him off. Hercules came over him, staring down at the man as he felt his fist shake.

"You have ten seconds to explain how you know such things. We already had someone leak information like that and killed millions of people for that bit of knowledge, so start talking. Ena dýo."

"I am no threat, please it's easy to explain."

"Tría téssera."

"It's about her, not about what I know, it's what she knows."

"Pénte éxi."

"She sees you!" the man shouted as the president went to his phone, "She dreams of you."

Herakles paused, "What did you say?"

"She dreams of you. Even drew you one day, right to scale and the moment you walked in I knew it was you."

She was dreaming of him, could it be, "Did she say anything else?"

"Sometimes when she dreams she says she's taken back many years before our own, seeing things that most cannot imagine, including a fair woman of nobility and grace that seems to be the mother of it all." he described, "Then at times she talks about a poet, a queen, and an actress. They at times speak with her but that was when I first met her, today you are lucky to even get her to mention you. She fears that she's insane yet I wanted to prove that wrong. So am I?"

Hercules looked over to the president, seeing the man give him a shocked look of awe, just for the man to nod and order the guards away from the door as he left the two of them alone. He waited, letting the news soak in him as each breath pass was a sign that it wasn't a dream.

"Yes." he finally told him, "I am Greece. And this woman, she dreams of me, truly?"

"From the bottom of my heart, she sees you and I think you will be the best thing for her."

"When will this begin?"

"Her arrival? In at max three weeks, and that's me convincing her to move slowly if I can."

He was becoming more curious about her, "Why do you say that?"

The old man chuckled, "Feriah is a force to be reckoned with. A woman like a warrior, speed of a cheetah, might of a lion, spirit as bright as the sun. She is what most would consider a wild woman."

"Acts fast then?" 

"More than she should. It took me all I could just to convince her to take the job. I'm still struggling to keep her on the subject matter and more."

There was something in the old man's tone, deep and worrisome, "What aren't you saying?"

He sighed at him, "Look. Feriah has done this job for as long as I can remember, she believes she is doing the best for everyone, yet in truth, she is hurting herself. She needs away and help to add as well. She believes once she finishes the mission here, she will return to base."

Now it sunk in him and what the man was trying to do, "There won't be a base when she returns?"

"No it'll be there, just not for her." his eyes spoke levels of sadness, "Please, help Feriah. She needs it more than I can explain. Watch her from a distance and you will see who she is."

Hercules thought long and hard about the idea of his capital and the challenge of his nation that she was tackling. He wasn't sure what he was up against but willing to take on anything in this matter.

"Alright, I'll help her as best as I can and keep her in the nation as well."

The old man smiled brightly, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Then he was alone. His mind still buzzing with the thought of her and what she would be like, how her past must be and what she does, so dangerous yet courageous. He wasn't sure what to do, well, except one thing. He pulled out the device, his fingers lightly trembled with excitement and a small fear that welled in him over her. He had a capital. Athens was out there and soon coming to his lands. And he couldn't wait for it.

"Konichiwa?" he heard it answer.

"Kiku," he smiled, "Guess what I just learned."


	3. Chapter 3

Train. Run. Observe. Calculate. Learn. That's all her mind could do at that moment. She had to gather all that she could to get where she needed to, to find those bastards and put an end to this ring. There wasn't time to waste, too many lives were at stake. But as she rounded the corner of the historical site of Lycabettus, she peered out over the land, awed by what she saw. There rose the sun, stretching its rays over the sleepy city below as she watched it. She had seen so many yet this one seemed to be...different.

Chatter filled her head as she willed it away, she didn't want those distractions. Hated it really. She knew what they were and what they would tell and show her, yet she didn't want it, just to work and get this all over with.

"Sit." a barking command came to her mind.

Oddly enough, she obliged as she plopped down on her bottom, eyes still looking over the capital.

"Relax." came another.

Feriah sighed, knowing that it was inevitable. Those strange dreams had just gotten worse since she set foot in the nation two weeks ago and now, it was just easier to let them speak. Closing her eyes, she felt herself calm and fall into a serenity that just made her soul become alive. With a gentle wind, she felt time slip away. She knew what this was and it still boggled her mind when she opened her eyes to the view.

The sweet scent of daffodils, hyacinths, and gladiolus came to her as the world seemed to stop moving. And there was only one person that had that flowery smell.

"Nice to see you again." her melodic voice called to her.

This was where she called herself insane, talking to a woman that doesn't even seem to exist was just killing her along with the fact of her dreams, she understood why Father Jabari asked if she was alright half the time, made perfect sense. Yet when Feriah opened her eyes, it wasn't the Greece she was just staring at.

Standing up, she turned to look behind her and sure enough, there stood the woman. Her cream chiton accented her body perfectly as the gold hues within seemed to just brighten her even more as those dazzling green eyes looked at her. Her hair was free this time, waving lightly in the breeze that was before them, lifting the scent back to Feriah.

"I'm glad you actually listened this time." she smiled.

"Still think I'm insane." Feriah replied, "People don't normally see this."

"Yet you are not, child." she smiled and began to walk away.

"Hey, I'm not a child." she snapped.

In truth, she used the women in her dreams, the dreams itself to escape the hell she lived and endured during those dark days. It was her only saving grace before wanting to just give up.

"I'm aware." she said as Feriah got to her side, "Yet in some ways you are."

Feriah followed the woman as they ventured the large stone buildings and listening to the men speak around them, great knowledge being gathered and shared as each one of them found something else or thought of a great idea. It was intriguing really, it was these little visions that gave her the idea of escaping, listening to these visions as they spoke of so many things.

"Want to tell me why I'm here again?" Feriah asked.

The woman smiled, "Why not?"

"I can think of many reasons why not to be honest. All this does is prove that I'm insane and-"

"What? Need to be locked away?" she smiled at her, "No, you're not insane. There are others like you."

Others? Well, yes in a way she was right there, there were others like her out there that were just like her but different stories, yet this half, well, if there were, they were mostly locked up or dead already.

"Stop dwelling Feriah, follow me before you are lost."

She shook her head, following the woman as they ventured passed shops and people, witnessing the days of historical Greece. It never failed, each time she would come to this place as a child, the woman would take her around the lands, showing her things that most would only dream of.

Feriah knew not to get too comfortable in one location, the woman was famous for sending her through multiple places at once, to understand and learn what was before her, well, her words more than her own.

"You are so stubborn, you know that?" she chided her.

"You now figured that out?"

"Oh, I knew, just let it slide by." the woman moved along the large stone buildings, "Yet that was then, this is now and you need to focus on what's before you."

"What's before me, you're kidding right?"

"No, why would I joke?"

Feriah shook her head as those sweet little giggles caught her ears, there was only one that made that sound. Her head whipped around, hoping to catch just a glimpse of him. Finally, on the large steps of the building, there he laid. His olive skin almost looked darker compared to the buildings creamy white structure and his eyes, oh those beautiful green eyes, how they grabbed her. His smile was bright as his mind seemed to wander as he listened to the philosophers within, almost like he was enjoying such adult talk.

"Cannot get enough of him?" the woman smiled.

How could she not? He was a handsome boy and she knew, he would grow to be one hell of a man one day. But the little dark cloud grew in her mind. This was years before her time, there was no way he was alive or even real for that matter.

"What use is it?" she said, moving away from the sight.

She could hear the woman laugh, knowing she was finding amusement in her plight of the boy. The wind whipped around her briefly, showing her the small garden space she knew too well within her dreams.

"Why are you doing this?" Feriah asked.

"I'm just simply showing you what you need to see." was the reply.

"And if I don't want to?"

"Oh, you do." the woman snickered as she moved to look over the land again.

Yet Feriah stood still, she knew this scene too well. The woman sat at a table, parchment in hand as her hand flew across the piece, her eyes never adverting from what she desired most. And that's when he came in. So much like the little boy from earlier, yet so aged and defined. He was a definition of a true man. There was strength written on him as he held himself high, yet kept himself low, almost to be with the people around him. She could hear the light Greek leave the two, understanding bits and pieces.

"O Venus, beauty of the skies, To whom a thousand temples rise, Gaily false in gentle smiles, Full of love-perplexing wiles; O goddess, from my heart remove. The wasting cares and pains of love." she heard him recite over her shoulder, that rich velvet voice. "Such beauty in words, Sappho."

Sappho, the Greek poet? That wasn't possible, she never gained names during these, yet he spoke it, clear as day and right before her too.

"See what I mean?" she felt the woman's hand entwine with hers, "Come on, more to see."

Before she could say a word, the world changed, this time of a regal state. People awing and fanning over the young Queen. She was beautiful and graceful as she smiled at her people, yet it seemed that her eyes were elsewhere. Looking over, Feriah saw him again, smiling down at her as the people gathered around in awe. Before she could see more, it changed again, and this time, the people gathered around the platform.

She saw the woman giving high words for the Greeks, a renowned hope seemed to fill the people of the area.

"I was born a Greek and I will die a Greek." she told them.

She saw him again, clapping with the crowd as his smile grew. She felt the woman stand beside her, her own smile was seen as Feriah looked over the sight before her once more.

"So, what do you see?" she asked her.

Feriah glanced around, wondering what was going on, just for her to shut down, "Nothing but my growing insanity."

A sigh left the woman beside her, one she knew all too well, "Please, leave me be Andromeda."

She watched as the woman gave a sad nod, waving her hand before her as a small smile crossed her face, "Be sure to take care of Hercules."

Before Feriah could ask, she found herself back at the hill, looking over the city as the sun went higher over the lands. How irritating that whole thing was, she knew it was her mind trying to push the past away, to heal her mind after...well, after all of that.

The vibrations of her pocket were the truth of how much time passed as she hurried out of the area. Damn those things, wasting her time and dragging her farther into a hell she pulled herself out of. She shook the sights and thoughts from her head, she didn't need this. She needed to focus on the mission at hand and find the ring, get the children out and then she was back home.

Yes, she enjoyed the sights and sounds of the land that plagued her mind. Yes, she wanted to venture off and see what she could find and see if her dreams were real or imaginary. And yes, she wanted to find him. Ever since she first saw him, she wanted to find a man like him, yet none could ever get his gentle olive skin or his beautiful green eyes. Not even close.

Finally in front of the building, she waited to hear the usuals, although she knew it would be a little quieter than normal.

"Took you long enough." She heard Zamir say.

"Seriously?" as usual, Ilir would pop up, "Let her be. "

"Thank you, Ilir." she strolled passed them as the large doors were her real calling.

There within was Father Jabari with the Greek president, discussing the actions she had taken so far.

"Hello again, Feriah." Father Jabari smiled at her as the president nodded.

"What's been found?"

"Straight to business as usual." the president smiled, "I like that with you."

Feriah nodded at the man as she approached the desk, looking over the papers and maps laid out before them. The two men spoke softly as they pointed out areas of active locations of kidnappings, she glanced over the spot, seeing how much she had gathered yet had to continue before all was said and done.

"As of now, it seems there are two active spots." Father Jabari said as his nimble hands touched the map, "One in Patras and one right here in Athens."

She nodded at his words, thinking of the data and intel she had gathered of reports and more, everything led to an active slave-ring in the making, one she was going to close in a new record time. 

"Right then," the president sighed, "With you finding the information like so, how long do you think it will take you to finish this and put an end to this?"

"If my calculations are correct, I would say less than a month. But I like to be completely precise about everything I do, so a month, give or take a day or two."

"Good, so what can you do if you have help with you?"

Now that was unexpected, "Well with the others, it can be sooner since we are all-"

"Óchi." 

"Affedersiniz?" he didn't.

"Fine, then as you would say, hayır." 

Ok, he did say that, "Why no?"

"It's nothing against your team, you all work well together, but in this case, we do not want to raise suspicion or alarm in the nation or cities. Not all are on the same side with us and we are still trying to figure out who is with us and who is not." the man stated as Father Jabari nodded, "Now with this, I do have one person that would work well with you. He is more than willing to help you and figure out what needs done-"

"You are telling me that I cannot work with my team and that I am to be saddled with a man that hasn't a clue of what I do for a living and what he is up against?" she snapped.

"Feriah please," Father Jabari begged, "Don't be so hasty to not allow it. I agree with him on this and since one of ours is out and the other two are working on another ring in Asia, it is all we can do."

This had to be a joke, there wasn't any way this was serious or that it would work in any sort, yet there the two men stood, looking at her as she felt herself straighten.

"Fine then, I'll need to have this person train under me for at least a week or more so this must start now. No waiting."

She saw Father Jabari smile, not his usual 'oh she finally agreed smile', no this was different. Much different and it wasn't sitting well with her. She let them speak a little more as the sensation of being watched crawled down her spine. In truth, that feeling had surrounded her since she entered the nation those days ago, and since then, it was constant. She knew she was being careful and checked her perimeters and more, yet she couldn't shake the nagging feeling.

"Right then, once he's done with the meeting of Genesis then I will have him sent to you, Feriah, and then you both can work together." the president stated.

"A man?" she sighed.

"Yes, is that an issue?"

"No." It wasn't an issue, but at times working with men only lead them to gawk at her than actually work.

"Do not worry about Hercules, he's a decent man."

Hercules? Why did that seem familiar to her? Shaking her head, Feriah noticed a flash of white from the far side of the room. Glancing over, she nearly gasped out loud as Andromeda stood there, smiling as if nothing was wrong. She had to be seeing this, there was no way. It was lack of sleep, her past catching up with her, the amounts of caffeine she inhaled with each cup she made; just had to be those.

Yet there the woman was, strolling around in the room as she attempted to lay a hand on the president, only for it to fall through him. Feriah felt a shudder roll through her body as Andromeda gave a weak smile.

"Be sure to take care of Hercules." she heard the woman say, just to disappear before her eyes.

"Yep, I'm truly insane." Feriah thought, "I'm seeing the dead while I'm awake and it's talking to me."

"Feriah, did you hear me?" she heard Father Jabari asked.

"Sorry Father, I was lost in thought." she said shaking her head.

"Looks more like you saw a ghost." the man smiled at her as the president left the room, "I said for you to be nice to the man. I know how you are."

Feriah smiled at him, "If he's good and behaves then I will. He get's handsy then I'll break his arm like the last guy."

"You put him in a hospital, you brute." she heard Zamir say as he and Ilir walked in.

"Told you I'd do the same to you if you started shit as well." she glared at him.

"No more rivalry you two." Father Jabari said, "Right now the lives of the children are at hand and must be cared for. We must hurry on all accounts. Understand?"

All three of them agreed as she saw Ilir give a small smile as he approached her, "Raja said to give you a hug from her."

A smile crept onto her face, knowing he was telling the truth of the sweet woman. She gathered the man in her arms, embracing him tightly, "Tell her thanks and to take it easy. No need to upset her now."

"Oh, I know." Ilir replied as a small dusting of pink covered his cheeks. "Never thought it would happen."

Feriah laid her hand on his cheek, "But it has, so treasure it Ilir, and congratulations."

"Shukraan lika." he smiled, "Take care of yourself."

She watched as they all left her in the room, letting her ponder her own mind as to what was coming and yet what needed her help, just for her new apprentice to come to mind. An aggravated sigh left her as she thought of having to train someone again, how time-consuming. There wasn't much time as it was and teaching someone was just going to put the children in more danger. Then she remembered what the president said about him.

"Meeting with Genesis?" she said aloud, "Maybe there is a little hope there."

"Hope for what?"

"Üzgünüm!" she nearly shouted, "I wasn't paying much attention and just thinking out loud..."

She trailed off as she turned to look behind her, shock and awe filled her mind as she looked at him. It couldn't be, no way in hell that it could be, there was no way he was freaking real. Yet there before her was the man in question, and her own dreams. Traveling so many places of the world, she had seen an array of men, yet this one man. One single man out of billions was just like the one in her dreams. She could hear Andromeda giggling in her head as she stared at him.

"You ok?" he asked, finally gaining her attention.

"Yes!" she replied, "I'm fine, just tired and a lot on my mind."

His green eyes glowed at her as he made his way over to the desk. How on earth was he real? She wanted to touch him, to make sure her mind wasn't messing with her but the thump of his jacket and hat hitting the wooden piece was all she needed to know he was real. She knew she was staring, it was hard not to. She glanced at him as he observed the maps and papers strewn across the desk. His olive skin was taut and smooth over his frame, his brown tresses falling forward as his eyes seemed to be learning everything that was before him, his clothing seemed to hide the rest of him as he leaned over the desk, and it was taking Feriah all she had not to gawk at him like a lovesick teenager over some boy band toy.

"So I am to guess the areas circled are the ones we are going to target and work on?" she heard him say.

"Yes, they are the main places of activity that I have found since landing here." she replied, approaching him lightly, having the sweet scent of the Mediterranean caress her, so many amble scents combined into one, it was just breathtaking.

"Alright then, when do we start?" he asked, those greens landing on her.

"As soon as I think you are fit to work with me." she stated.

He smiled lightly at her, "Guessing you are not a fan of someone not in your group?"

"Not that, more of how long it'll take to have you ready. Time is everything in this type of situation."

"Then you have nothing to worry about." he said looking at the maps again, "I'm a fast learner."

"We'll see about that." she said, "Might as well get acquainted with one another."

She straightened herself out before him, hoping that her features were still and unseen, "I'm Feriah."

He stood up, his hand reaching out for her's as it finally met her own, "Hercules."

She heard Andromeda talk again in her head as she looked up at the man, yet as much as she wanted to believe, she pushed it all aside. It wasn't possible. There was no way he was that same man. Not even in the slightest. And with it, she was going to keep thinking that.

 

"So, what is the new girl like?" he heard Dryas asked.

Hercules smiled at the young nation's enthusiasm over Feriah. After learning about her and digging all that he could about her, he was truly on his own mission to gain whatever he could about her. Didn't help that she was a routine person either and was easy to follow around his capital...well, soon to be herself really. He knew the moment she landed, what hotel she was in, her running paths, places she ate, everything. He had her down to a T when it came to that, and with it, he was learning everything he could about her.

"Best to put, she's very militarized." he said taking a sip of his ouzo, "Very quick and ready for battle. A no-nonsense type to be more of the fact."

"Seems you may have issues with that." he heard Gupta say.

"Why do you say that?"

"Have you seen yourself?" the Egyptian smirked at him.

"Just because I 'lay around' as you all say, doesn't mean that I am lazy."

"No, just makes you a loser." Sadiq stated as he sat with the rest of them.

"Why are you all being cruel to me?" he asked them.

"Honesty." the two men replied as Sadiq laughed, "Look, my friend, you aren't the most active out of all of us. Gupta here rides his horses around, Dryas swims, and I-"

"Fuck a lot." Hercules shot at him.

"Hey." the man pointed his finger at him, "That is true but not the case at the moment. I also have my own trails and such that I work on. Plus the bathhouses are nice too."

"No, in this case, Sadiq, I agree with Hercules." Gupta stated.

"Oi, just because I'm ahead of you doesn't mean that I am getting laid all the time."

"Doctor says that women in the beginning stages of pregnancy have a higher set of hormones and such making her crave it more." the man smiled as his wife came over to him.

"Quit quoting me." she said, moving the keffiyeh on his head, "But we are all curious about the new capital joining us."

Sudden footsteps came to him as he saw Habibah throw her arms around Sadiq in excitement, "Yes! Tell us more about her. We need more girls here."

"Hey what about me?" Sadiq pouted at her.

"You get me all the time, it would be great to have another woman to talk with. Nothing against you Neema."

"None taken, I'm just as excited as you really."

"I said as much as I can think of as of now. She doesn't seem to realize that she has more about her than thought, very down to business that much I can see."

He could feel Neema narrow her eyes at him, "What are you hiding?"

"How can you tell that?" Dryas asked.

"Easy, you men all have that light chill and then rub the back of your necks when something is missing or you don't want to speak of something. Right, Gupta?"

He saw the man slightly shrink in his seat as Cairo nudged him, "Only did it that one time and I wanted to surprise you."

Hercules smiled at them, "Well, according to Father Jabari, she doesn't believe her dreams. Almost sees herself as insane in the case. Just trying to figure out what to do there."

"Ah, one of those then." Sadiq said, "Might want to call one of the others. Not all capitals took it well."

"Wasn't Oslo one of them?" Habibah asked.

"Yes, her and Vienna if I'm correct. Don't think Hanoi was too fond either." Dryas replied.

"There are a few in that number." Gupta added.

"Then it would be best to ask them what they did to help their capitals understand." Neema nodded at him, "Last I heard, Antonio is having a time keeping his from admitting herself."

"Least it's admitting and not committing." Sadiq said, gaining a thwack from Habibah, "Ow, it's true."

"Yes but not needed to be heard." she said moving around to sit in his lap.

Hercules watched as the rest of them conversed with one another, seeing what nations he should speak to about Feriah. But his eyes found themselves on Sadiq and Habibah, his hand resting protectively over her belly, knowing what was growing within. It was hard to see the once powerful empire he knew him to be, be smitten with a little woman and the treasure they created together.

"Oh, I know what I wanted to ask you." Gupta said, "Why were you asked to go to Asia yesterday, you didn't say anything about it?"

"Wait!" Dryas shouted, "I think I know why but I didn't hear if it was true or not."

"What was?" Hercules asked.

"Bejing was found." he replied.

Gasps and questions filled the air along with his own. The woman had gone missing nearly five months ago after the attack on all the capitals and cities, it was starting to look dim on ever finding her.

"Yes, Nora was found." a visible shudder rolled through Neema, "I was called with other doctors and nurses around to help out. She was a complete mess."

"How bad?" Habibah asked.

"She changed in Yao's arms and when they were bringing her back to the building, she was healing." she swallowed harshly, seeming to keep her stomach down, "We had to reset everything that was healing. That also meant breaking what healed too."

A groan left Sadiq as both Gupta and Dryas shuddered, he too felt goosebumps and the sickening feeling of fixing himself up after wars and such just claim his stomach. A hell he wouldn't wish on his enemy.

"That being said and now moving on. Bejing has been found and being cared for and now we have the truth of Athens." Neema said as she smiled at him, "So my question is when do we meet her and what does she look like?"

Hercules smiled as she crossed his mind. He was shocked to say how stunning she really was, but damn did she plague his mind, "Dark brown hair, cascades down her back in a ponytail or braid mostly that I've seen. Her skin is about yours, Sadiq, color-wise yet so soft when she does finally touch you. Her voice is low and mature, truth that she has seen things that most cannot fathom. "

Then his favorite piece of her came to him, only then did he close his eyes and lean his head back, "And she has the greenest of eyes that stand out against her. So bright and alluring of what I would call a spring green that it captures your very soul."

He dove into those eyes the moment he saw her, and in truth, he didn't want to get out of them either.


	4. Chapter 4

There wasn't a moment that she didn't awe him...or worry about his well-being when she was fighting. She was deadly, that's for sure. He watched as she slammed the officers into the ground, barely blinking an eye at their efforts to stop her. Feriah was one he wasn't sure to be wonderous or afraid of her.

"Is there anything else you want to try?" she asked the men, walking around the damage she had created.

"Aren't women supposed to be dainty?" one uttered under his breath.

The back of her heel landed in the middle of his back, a pained yelp escaped him as she leaned over him, "I'm far from dainty."

Hercules stifled a laugh that built up in his throat. Oh, how he wanted her to meet the others and see what was before her, yet it was too soon and with it, she seemed more admit to finishing the task at hand. Moving from his spot, he ventured down towards the open gym as she spoke with all the men below.

"You all have no idea what you are getting into. These people have more methods of killing you than you all have in just sitting around." she proclaimed, "If I don't get you fools where you can defend your country, then what good are you to it?"

"You are approaching them wrong." Hercules stated.

Her green eyes sharpened at him, "How so?"

"You have to get them where it appeases them the most."

"And that would be, oh good King of Laziness?" she sneered at him, giving a sarcastic bow.

And there was her lazy hit for the third time that early week. Since meeting and pairing up with her, it had been quite religious from her to hear a lazy spat about himself, one that he soon was going to silence away if she kept it up. He straightened himself up as he stood before her, giving a knowing smile.

"What appeases most men?" he asked.

"Food, alcohol, sex-"

Hercules cut her off as he pressed his finger to her full lips, one he imagined his own on.

"Alright my Greek brothers, if we do not get where we need to be, these beasts that sit within our great land will not only crumble us but destroy what we love most. There will be no vineyards, no farmlands of tobacco, no familiar dishes to fill us or women to love us. There will be nothing but a barren land we once called our own. Now boys, do we want that?"

A set of cheers filled the air as they all began their training from Feriah, more determined than earlier. Hercules smiled at her, watching as she raised her brows and shook her head at them.

"True men you all are."

"Why do you say it like that?"

"As they say, a way to the man is through his stomach, once you fill that appetite you can get him elsewhere. Of course, that elsewhere is mostly back where he was first born from." she snickered, "Spent nine months within it and the rest of your lives doing whatever you can to get back in it."

"That is not all of us?"

Feriah whipped around to meet eye to eye, "Alright then, your number of lovers?"

Well, she hit hard and low. Not that Hercules wouldn't tell her the truth, he knew she didn't know the dreams and meanings behind them or that he was a nation. Yet even he was smart enough to never, as some would say, kiss and tell. But he wasn't going to let her go so easily.

"If memory serves me well, it's about ten or so, giving my rogueish years."

"More than one sloppy seconds that most women don't want to deal with." she sauntered off.

"Sloppy seconds?" 

"You heard me."

The sly minx, "Now hold on a moment, you are judging a past you aren't even clear on and yet think all are the same no matter the circumstance."

"I judge, for the number of men that truly think like you said are higher than the one that you think you are." she snapped back, "Ten lovers you said, that is more than most want to think about and more of a reason to run in fear. A man that hasn't dedicated his heart to anyone and yet lays willingly with anyone screams what his true nature is."

Now she was just being cynical, "I may have had a wild past, it does not mean that I don't value the greater good of people."

Feriah spun around once more, her face only mere inches from his own, "I speak what I say for it is what I see and know. You do not put effort into anything that is done. It is a facade that just keeps the president off your ass and your government happy as you lay around and look at women's asses all day long along the beaches and more. I have watched you multiple times to understand what kind of man you really are." 

"You really think you know everything don't you?"

"I know plenty with what I am working with." she nodded at him, "I point out a brothel to them and they'll be dogs at the ends of their chains howling in need."

Hercules laughed at her, he couldn't help it really. She was a spark that couldn't be put out no matter how hard you tried to snuff out the flame. And she really could burn down Greece if she wanted to, well, he'd let her in reality. For he really knew Feriah.

Ever since he laid eyes on her and started observing her from afar, he had gathered so much about her. How she operated, how she moved and what she thought. Yet with it all, and getting personal with her, he dug deeper into her before she even realized it. He saw the hurt laying in her, the past that haunted her, the dreams that confused her, how his mother would try and push her towards him and what she needed to do yet she kept placing walls up over it, doing whatever she could to drown it away. But he was tearing them down, little by little. Each time he spoke with her, he would just lightly tap on that wall, watching as tiny pieces ebbed away to show him the real Feriah he knew laid under that tough exterior.

"Anything you want to add, Kaptan tembel?"

"Still going on about me being lazy?"

Feriah let out a hearty laugh, "Of course! I haven't seen you really lift a finger since I got here."

"I have done a lot more than you think, you just haven't seen me."

"Oh yeah, prove it."

Prove it? Oh, now it was game on for him. He felt the smile creep upon his face as he looked down at her, "Alright then."

 

 

"Where the hell are we going, Hercules?" she demanded as he lead her down a path from the road.

"Just follow me, you'll see." was all she got as he continued forward.

This was just ridiculous now. Since their spat in the main training facility, he was headstrong on proving something of himself. She knew he could do things, but God did it take a nuclear bomb to make him move. She thought the boys were lazy at times, this man beat them all and now he was trying to prove himself or something. Heaven knows why.

"Could you just tell me what you are up to?" she asked, "You know, should I worry about what I'll see? Maybe prepare for a battle? Attempt to save my life before you sell my organs on the black market?"

Feriah ran into him with an oomph, looking up to see him glaring down at her, "What?"

"Really, black market?"

"Hey, how do I know? Bad shit happens to tourists in places like this, it's a logical fact."

"You live too much on TV." he said continuing on.

"Oi, there's proof of it everywhere. Tourists go missing more than locals at times, they still haven't solved that American case of the girl going missing in Aruba or somewhere over there. There, that's proof."

"If I wanted you dead, I would have done that by now."

Now that set off alarms, "And how do I know that you won't now?"

"Because I haven't shut your chattering up." he noted, "Easier to kill someone that is quiet than one that never shuts up."

"Are you telling me I talk too much?"

She heard him smile as he scoffed a laugh at her. That slinky man, he was warping her worry into entertainment for himself as she spoke to him. Dirty, clever bastard.

"Alright you win." she sighed, "I'll shut up."

"Too late now. We're here."

Looking before her, she felt her breath hitch in her throat. There laid the most breathtaking beach she had ever seen, it's crystal clear waters shimmering in the sun as the water lapped at the rocky beach. The small inlet that gave way hid them from the eyes of the mass majority farther down, it was amazing.

"The hell are we, Hercules?"

"Anavissos." he replied, heading to the water's edge, "Not one of my favorite spots but one that I do enjoy here and there to see my land."

"See your land?"

"Yes, I do take the time to see what is happening within my nation." he smiled, "Also showing you that I'm not lazy."

Feriah leaned her head back as she felt the sun beat down on her tanned skin, "Really, is this what this is all about? All because I called you lazy? I'm sorry, but visiting a beach isn't going to prove much to me, you're going to have to..."

She trailed off. She couldn't help but do so. There was no way that was real, it couldn't be. She had watched him for the last two weeks within the training room and running paths she made the men take, he was lucky to place one foot in front of the other, it's why she called him lazy for he proved it no matter what he did. 

Yet there he stood, his shirt removed from his body as the sun glistened off his olive skin, his hair flaring out with the wind as his green eyes observed the water before him. What took her off most, was the muscles that claimed his body. So defined and sculpted, like a Greek god had descended down before her, fuck the demi-god himself why not. There was so much to him that she was blind to it all and yet wasn't sure what to take in first of him. But of all that claimed her mind, was where the hell was he hiding it?

"Feriah?" she heard him call to her.

She finally made contact with him, his brow up in curiosity of her as she stood there no doubt gawking like a mad woman.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"The fuck?" was all she could get out.

"Excuse me?"

"That."

"What?"

"That." she raised her hands towards him.

"What?" she watched as he looked around him.

"That. That!" she exclaimed, "That, all of that!"

"Feriah, I'm lost." he said, "What am I looking at?"

"You, you idiot!" she said coming closer and pointing to his body, "Where the fuck did all of that come from?"

She watched as Hercules looked down upon himself, finally realizing what she was stating, only to burst out in laughter at her.

"This isn't funny, where the hell have you been hiding that? I'm lucky to get you to move a foot in the gym yet here you stand with a full six-pack that could put bodybuilders to shame."

The man's laughter grew louder as he gripped his sides and it was taking all Feriah had not to let him have it, "Oh come on, it's true. What more do you want from me?"

Finally, he calmed down, "Nothing really, that was good. If I would have known that taking my shirt off and showing you I work out would have stopped the lazy comment, I would have done that ages ago."

"Haha, yes I get it, you're entertained." she crossed her arms, "Now tell me what's the point of coming here?"

"Well isn't it obvious?" he said as he moved closer to the water, his pants meeting his shirt.

"For the love of God, if you're going to strip freaking warn me, the last sight I want is your bare ass."

"I highly doubt you would look away from it if it was." he stated, slowly trudging in the water.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on Feriah, we're wasting daylight." he replied back.

She stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to say or do. Well, it didn't help she was looking at him almost naked as he stood in the blue water in just his black boxer briefs that hugged that marvelous ass...Feriah mentally scolded herself for thinking that way. Yet she was still confused as to what he was doing.

"You coming?" he called back as he quickly moved and dove into the water.

Oh, now she knew, "You're joking right?"

She waited for him to pop up, yet there was no sign of the man. Panic started to well up in her, the fear she knew too well off. Slipping off her shoes and removing her t-shirt, she prayed she would see him as she traveled lightly on the rocks before her. She felt herself shiver as she looked at the water in front of her, swallowing the fear that was slowly consuming her. Ever so lightly, she jumped to the rocks. Lightly making her way out in the water as she looked for him. How on earth did he just disappear?

"Hercules? Hercules please, this isn't funny?" she called out, jumping to another rock, "Come on now the game is done. Come out now."

She was answered with the waves crashing into the rocks, making her grip on the hard pieces slick as she tried to gain balance. She knew it wasn't too deep there, that didn't bother her, it was other things that did. 

"Hercules, now. This is serious, come out now!" she called out again, "Hercules, please!"

Suddenly she felt her grip loosen and the water engulfed her, her body weightless as she tried to grasps onto something solid. That was it, it came flying back to her. She could feel the icy water hit her, the painful shock that came with it as the choking smell of blood and decay claimed her. Panic became her as she flailed around, hoping that something would come in her grasp. Something wrapped around her, hauling her away from her struggle just for the rough feeling of the rocks to rest under her hands. She dug her fingernails into the hard material, doing whatever she could to escape the hell that was owning her mind. Breaking through the water, she coughed up what she had swallowed, finally taking breaths of air as she pulled herself upon the rocks.

"Feriah!" she heard Hercules behind her.

She wasn't given a moment to gather herself as his hands grabbed her waist, spinning her around to face him, yet all it did was send her into a panic.

"NO!"

She watched as Hercules recoiled from her, his hair slicked back from the water as his face was full of worry. She blinked it all away, everything that was flashing before her eyes of those wretched days, yet something told her to hang onto him, that he could help her out of it. Without thinking, she reached out to him, wanting to feel his hand within hers and wonder if it was true. Finally, his fingers entwined with her own, a subtle calm claiming her as she felt him come closer.

"That's close enough." she got out as she felt his knee beside her thigh, "Close enough."

"Are you ok?" she felt him brush back the wet strands that hung in front of her face.

She peered up to see those dazzling green eyes she liked so much on him, those same eyes in her dreams even, "Yea, now I am."

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Don't tell me nothing Feriah." he stated as he got closer.

"Didn't I say that was close enough?"

"And I asked what happened."

"It doesn't concern you."

"It does when you almost drowned in front of me."

Now it was there, tell him the truth or just push him off, "Feriah, I'm asking once more, what's-"

"I can't swim alright?!" she shouted, "I'm terrified of the water, big waters to be honest."

She looked back at the rock. Yes, the strong soldier that everyone knew was terrified of water. Positively terrified of even putting her toes in it, but when it came to helping someone, she would push it down to save lives. And yet here she was, nearly drowned doing what she did best.

"Why didn't you say anything?" a strange melancholy laying in his voice, "I wouldn't have done that if I had known."

Feriah looked at him to reply but found it lost in her throat. He looked positively horror-struck that he learned that as if he was beating himself up for hurting her even though he did nothing wrong. And now she felt like a total ass for making him feel this way now too. That was another thing that was puzzling her about him, he could make her feel things that she thought were non-existent in herself, dead at most yet here she was feeling hurt that she made him feel this way.

"Look, Hercules, it's not your fault, I didn't say anything about it and you didn't know." she said cupping his cheek, feeling the soft warm skin against her palm, "It's past now, let's just leave it there and do something else for now."

Those eyes looked at her with awe and worry, yet it seemed he wouldn't argue with her, at least just not yet, "Ok, we can stop giving one another heart attacks."

"Well, that's a good way to put it."

He smiled at her, "I have an idea."

"And your idea?"

"Come on, let's get to the car and I'll take you to it."

"Better not be another swimming lesson." she joked.

"If you want I can teach you."

Feriah giggled at him, knowing he was true with what he said, "I may take you up on it if you don't scare the fuck out of me. But what are we doing then?"

"You'll see." he said as they made it back to the car.

She waited, wondering what he was up to as the drove the winding roads away from the inner city bustle, listening to him explain the nation and lands before her, how many sites and places to see besides the ocean and what else she could gather while there in the country. In truth, she was getting quite comfortable in the nation, finding it more like a home than she originally planned, but she knew it wasn't that and that she would be back with the group at the base and taking out more of those scumbags that lived out there.

Finally, after a small tour of the land and places, he pulled in front of a massive home, one she couldn't believe existed.

"Where the hell are we?"

"My place." he parked the car.

"What?!"

"Yea, what did you think?"

Feriah gapped at the home, "Not this!"

Hercules chuckled at her, "Come on, you'll enjoy everyone within."

"Everyone?" now she was wondering what was going on, "You didn't mention others?"

"Government workers like me, mostly of other nations. Two of them are married and have their wives with them, so you won't be alone." he replied as he opened the large doors.

Feriah couldn't contain the gasp that left her, it was breathtaking. Marble columns as far as she could see just for gold and red hues of curtains and furniture came to view. Wooden floors accented rooms from the main lobby as a vast staircase disappeared above her, artwork of eras not her own scattered the walls as she took in everything she could.

"Going to make yourself dizzy if you keep it up." he said pressing on.

Feriah slowly followed behind, awed by the marvelous house that was his own, "Sure you're just government?"

"Quite sure." he replied opening doors to the outside, "And there they all are."

Feriah glanced outside to see three men sitting at the small firepit, chatting the slowly growing evening as one woman leaned against the one, her dark skin much like Father Jabari's yet she seemed more like a goddess with the trinkets in her hair. 

"Don't worry, none of them bite." he noted to her, "Come on over and enjoy the company."

She watched as he made his way over to them, hearing them acknowledge him as they jumped back into the conversation. There was something about them all, something she knew that made her feel good. Either the event of earlier or her own intuition, they just seemed to, well, be like her and a strange comfort overcame her.

A small tap on her shoulder caught her off guard, making her turn around and see another woman behind her.

"Are you Feriah?" she asked.

All she could do was nod at her, yet the woman didn't seem to mind as she broke out into a large grin, "Oh yay! Finally, we get to meet the woman that puts Hercules in his place."

Feriah giggled at her as the woman took her hand, "I'm Habibah by the way. And I can tell you, you're going to love it with us."

Something about her, about the people around her, the home even, but mostly Hercules himself, made her words even truer as Feriah smiled at her. Yes, she had a feeling she was going to love the hell out of this place.


	5. Chapter 5

If someone were to tell her that a year ago, she would be actually sitting down with friends as useless chatter filled the air with side splitting laughter, Feriah would have laughted at them. But there she was, sitting on the veranda with Habibah and Neema, laughing at debauchery that the men had created over time. The sweet drinks and treats before them gave her more proof that she had relaxed more than she ever had, watching as Habibah laid out the cards before them.

"Really woman, you are doing it again?" Neema said to her.

"Why not, never know what fortune will bring you." she replied placing the cards out.

"Never knew you for a fortune teller." Feriah nodded at her.

"Eiraf, Feriah. A seer in terms." the woman corrected her.

"The difference?"

"Some fortune tellers rely on known knowledge and swindle people out of money." Habibah explained, "I, however, do it for my own want and knowledge of seeing. I was lucky to be taught it."

"In the world you lived in, I'm amazed you weren't killed." Neema stated.

Habibah nodded to her, "True. I was just lucky that not many knew."

"Guessing it was bad for you." Feriah questioned.

"Oh it was. Pretty much in the same line of work you do, but instead of being the savior I was the one being saved."

Feriah felt herself recoil, knowing the world that children survived in those places, "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"No, no!" Habibah waved her hands at her, "I'm not upset, glad actually that there is someone out there that actually cares about people like me."

She watched as the woman sunk into her memories, "It was hard, no doubt about it. My father was what some would see as radical, my mother blindly followed with others. It was my grandmother and neighbor that taught me the art of seeing the rest of the way, they alwasy told me I was special. But when the times changed more drastically, they did more than most would ever, plus when the knowledge to sell off children for money and the good of the cause, it was just easier to give my sisters and I up. Males were better in that world, but you already know that."

"I've seen boys in the cirlces as well, no child of either gender is safe from that world. Not even of skin or religion." Feriah noted.

"Then you know." Habibah went back to her cards, "Now lets see."

"Who did you channel this time?" Neema asked, sipping the sweet lime drink.

"Our Feriah." was all she said.

"Oh lord, now I'm terrified." Feriah joked, making Neema giggle at her and Habibah shake her head at her.

She watched as the woman flipped the cards over, looking over everything that was before her, barely understanding the faces of the cards.

"Well, I see that you have struggled, a path full of sadness and pain yet you have overcome it with great knowledge and power. Then I see that you have a chellenge before you, one that you are questioning over as well. Unsure of what will come of it and were it may lead. And then the last I see is bright, your days ahead will be full. A lover with you as the future continues on."

Feriah listened intently, trying to see what she was hinting at, yet deep down she barely believed the words, "Wow, so what does it mean?"

"You had a rough past yet you learned from it and made yourself a better person. You have a challenge before you that you are unsure of what ti think of it. if I was to guess it's not the ring you are working on now but your partner that you have helping you. Now for future, you will be happy and have a good outlook with things. If I were to guess, a husband and children." Habibah explained.

Feriah nearly busted out in laughter, "Me? Married? Please, no man can handle me."

"Oh, that so?" Neema smiled at her, "I have seen how you look at a certain Greek and how he looks at you."

Feriah felt her cheeck blush as she mentioned Hercules, she didn't realize she was that noticable, but looking at it, it was true. No matter where she was, her eyes always found him. Hell, she could point him out in a crowded room. His voice, his body, his skin and hair, and those eyes, oh how she loved his eyes. How beautiful they were against his skin, how they stuck out so brightly against the masses. Yet they were like her own, and like her fathers as well. The thought of him and her mother brought a small ache to her heart, knowing that they were gone and never to see what she had accomplished in life, yet she knew Father Jabari's words were true. They were proud and happy of her, here or not.

"Seems that we put you in a foul mood." Neema broke her thoughts.

"What? Oh no, no you guys didn't. I was just thinking about my parents." she replied to them.

"Oh, sorry Feriah." Habibah gave her a sad look, "Losing parents are hard at times, I know losing my grandmother was horrible."

"It's fine girls, really." Feriah reassured them, "Besides, we have one another and the guys to keep us entertained."

Both women laughed at her statement, "That's true, I know Gupta has his moments with the boys. He's the calmer of the bunch."

"That still doesn't mean that he doesn't get in trouble." Habibah noted.

"Like Sadiq is a calm man."

Feriah laughed at her, "Good lord, I saw Hercules and him cause all kinds of issues in the government building, I hate to see what they get into outside higher ups view."

"A lot of trouble." Habibah smiled, "They are men, it's in their nature."

"That it is but we all know that Hercules would probably calm down if Andromeda was still around." Neema added.

Andromeda? She couldn't have meant that Andromeda, "Who's that?"

Both women looked at her, curiosity crossing their face at her words and making her wonder what she said wrong, "What?"

"You don't know who Andromeda is?" Neema asked as Habibah placed the cards away.

"No." Feriah replied, "Should I?"

"Well, yes. We've both seen here once or twice in the dreams, the Ancient that she is." Habibah answered, "I thought you saw her as well."

"Dream? What do you mean by that?" she asked, the daunting fear rising up in her.

Both of them looked at each other, question lying in their faces just for Neema to sigh, "Feriah, have you had dreams of women, during eras so far from this one that it makes no sense however you looked at it, and for your case a woman that shows you that world. One that Hercules sort of resembles?"

Now it was becoming too real, "What are you trying to tell me? How do you know about that? Wait, did you speak to Father Jabari? Or did he tell Hercules and now you guys are asking?"

"Feriah," Habibah took her hand, "No one told us. In fact, we just assumed you knew. We've seen Amdromeda with Sadiq and Gupta, so we really believed that you constantly see Andromeda due to her being Hercules's mother."

"Mother?!" she shouted, "What are you all talking about?"

"Feriah, did anyone talk to you about your dreams, what they mean? Or have you seen Hercules in them?" Neema asked.

"They are nothing but my mind healing after surviving the ordeals that I have and trying to place things over the bad so I don't do anything stupid. A way to remove the insanity that really is my mind." Feriah stated.

"No, Feriah. They are real, it's all real." Neema explained, "What you dream of are past lives of women that made Greek history so powerful. And Andromeda is the imbodiment of Ancient Greece, the mother of the lands as she stood strong. And with it, Hercules is the personification of Greece while my husband is Egypt and Sadiq is Turkey and it making Dryas Cypress. You are surrounded by personifications Feriah, that is the truth."

This was insanity, it had to be, there was no real rhyme or reason for all of it to be happening, "You're fucking insane!"

"I'm not, and you too will be a personification." Neema threw at her.

"The hell I am!"

"You are!"

"Girls please." she heard Habibah beg, yet they ignored her.

"There are no such things."

"You are to be Athens as I am Cairo and Habibah to be soon Ankara and the child within her to be a city of Turkey. This is the world you are surrounded by."

"This is madness!" she stood up from them, backing away slowly.

"It's the truth Feriah, we thought you knew, that Hercules told you. We blindly assumed that when he brought you here that day, you knew your fate to be a capital." Habibah said to her.

"No it's not. Personifications don't exist. No nations or capitals or cities that are people, it's just pure madness and all you are doing is dragging me down in it even more." she felt her back hit the door.

"Feriah please, listen to us. It's true, you will be Athens one day. It's why you are in Greece-"

"I'm in Greece to save children from a slave-ring and then heading back to-"

"There is no base when you return. That's what Father Jabari said to Hercules and the truth that he did truly hide from you." Neema slammed her hands down, "You are to stay in Greece and get the help you need and not only that be the person you are meant to be."

Father Jabari left her here, to stay in Greece with no way home or reason to? He wouldn't do that to her, no he needed her, he trusted her just like she trusted him. He wouldn't have abandoned her there, never in a million years. She felt her head shake at the news, her hand fumbling the handle as both women yelled out for her. Once the door came open, she ran. Ran out of the home, ran away from the words they told her, ran away from her nightmares and heartache, just ran. 

There was no real place she ran to, just anything to escape what they told her. Their words of personifications and nations made no sense, how her dreams were supposedly the key to her being something that didn't even exist, that Andromeda was a real woman and the women were past lives that were residing in her, everything was nothing but a real heavy dose of insanity, yet the more it crossed her mind, the more it felt believeable.

Her feet gave out under her, her hands scrapping against the rough material as she fell. Looking up, she found herself in Acropolis, the large columns holding the strong history of the nation as more of the ancient landmark came to view. The dark clouds above her gave way as a light drizzle morphed into a sympathetic rain, one she was letting calm her mind and wash her tears.

"Feriah." she heard her name called faintly, and there was only one voice that sounded like that.

"Alright you bitch, show your face to me!" she shouted at the rain, "Prove to me that I'm insane and that what they said was false."

"It's not." came from behind.

Turning around, she saw her. Andromeda stood there as the rain held no effect to her, her sharp green eyes giving little hope of proving her wrong as she approached her.

"No! Don't you come any closer!" Feriah yelled, "You are nothing more but my mind creating a diversion of insanity and that you are someone that I failed to save. They all are. They are all someone that died in my arms that I can't remember and my mind is trying to make it better by creating a false memory to heal from than actually realizing that you all are truly dead by my own hand."

Andromeda stood thee, melancholy laying in her eyes, "Oh Feriah, how wrong you are."

It couldn't be, "Is Hercules your son?"

The woman gave a small sigh, "Yes, he is mine, from my body and soul. Hercules is my child as one day you shall be my daughter."

"It can't be." she felt herself slowly crumble.

"You are meant to be beside Hercules as the capital Athens. Both of you will lead the world to a better place."

"But that doesn't explain-"

"The dreams? My child, they are Sappho, Queen Amalia, and Melina Mercouri. They are women that helped form the nation Greece to its rightful place along with many others, yet they are the three that took your mind the most."

"It can't be, it's not real!" she exclaimed.

"It is and you need to believe it." Andromeda said, "And with it, you need to quell your scarred mind. Let him help you."

"With what?" she asked the woman only for her to disappear.

"Feriah?" she heard her name called out again, "Feriah!"

No doubt about it, that voice was his, full of worry and fear, "Feriah!"

She cound't move, she just stood there as she heard his footsteps come up behind her, "Feriah?"

His hand came on her shoulder, making her turn and slap his hand away, "Don't touch me!"

"Feriah, what-"

"What are you?" she demanded, "What the fuck are you?"

Hercules just stood there as the rain drenched his hair, he said not a word, yet his eyes spoke it all. He rubbed his face as it seemed he struggled to find words.

"Fine then, is it true that the woman I see, Andromeda, is your mother?"

His eyes came back to hers, giving a small sigh, "Yes."

She felt herself falter backwards, dear god, they were telling the truth, "So Father Jabari spoke of my dreams yes, telling you how I saw her and at times you within them, so the other women are?"

"The actress and political leader Melina Mercouri, poet Sappho, and Queen Amalia."

Her mind felt like it was going to explode with what she had learned, it just wasn't possible, "Please Feriah, I was going to explain it all, I just wanted you comfortable with the others first before diving into it. I know how you barely trust people and I wanted-"

"Trust! You say you wanted me to trust yet now I barely trust you! This whole thing is madness, it makes no sense!"

"I'm sorry Feriah, you're right I should have told you the truth-"

"There isn't any, its all my mind trying to heal, to make a false fantasy after surviving hell and torture. Looking at death and more and..."

She paused, she felt the women of her dreams push her towards him, to rely on his help as Andromeda whispered in her ear, "Trust him Feriah, let him know you and help you. We did our part, let him now."

Feriah looked at him, the rain soaking them both as she shivered, "Why me?"

"Feriah please-"

"Why me? Why, why, why, why me! Why did I have to dream of them? Why did I have to speak with her? Why did it feel so good to dive into those dreams when I should have been terrified? Why did you have to be in them for all it did was make me wonder and love you? Why did it have to be this way? Why did they take me away from them? Why did my parents have to die? Why did I have to survive that hell? Why did they do what they did? Why did they hurt me, or even push me to the brink of death just to bring me back and continue their torturous play? Why...why..." she felt herself shake and break under the pressure of her mind letting everything she kept so well hidden to them all as she saw him in the dreams and before her again.

It was then she knew their words were real about the personifications and what was to come, and yet her mind wanted to know one thing, "Why weren't you there to help me?"

She crumbled, letting the tears pour out as she dropped to her knees. So much she kept locked away, hidden from everyone around her and now it finally came out with broken sobs to a man that barely knew her.

Solid arms wrapped around her as her face was pressed into his chest, her sobbing shook them both as she tried to stop herself yet he wouldn't let her. He whispered to her as the rain washed it away, her heart and mind finally open yet broken. But now it was out and she had to face the facts, she wasn't like others and Father Jabari wasn't going to have her back until she was better. And to get better was her accepting her dreams and Hercules.

 

 

"Man I'm sorry." he heard Dryas say as all of them stood in the large kitchen.

"It's ok, just didn't think she'd react that badly."

"We didn't mean to make it worse, really didn't. Right Neema?" Habibah said as she was pressed into Sadiq's side.

"No, I didn't it. But after seeing Nora and what that damn group was capable of, it made me fearful of her not knowing too soon and getting captured by them." Neema said as she pulled her shawl around her.

"It was an accident, simple." Gupta said, "But now she knows and it's just a work in progress for it all. Although it sounds like she has a bit of history that is untouched as well my friend."

"Yes." Neema nodded, "I could talk to her but I may have you do a little before I try anything. May want to get ahold of Ottawa and Berlin, they are more adquate for this stuff than myself."

"I have already written Ludwig and Matthew, asking if their wives would be willing to help." Hercules said, "Knowing those two women, they will be all over it."

"That they would." Dryas agreed.

HIs mind was a mess after finding her in Acropolis, the tears falling from her and hearing her break down about her past, it just make him ache for her. He was lucky enough that his mother also whispered to him as he carried her home, telling him what she knew and how to approach her. So as she told him, he left her in his bedroom, curled up on his bed, letting her take in the truth of the capitals and nations.

"I feel like I dropped her in the middle of a war."

"It's her war." Sadiq said, "Not yours. You just have to be the soldier to pull her out of battle wounded."

Habibah nodded at him, "We know she trusts you, the cards say so as well. Maybe you can break into her more now that the truth is out."

He nodded at the sweet woman, hearing the others gather in small chatter around the table yet he was far in his mind to hear any of it. What could he really do? It was more than he thought it was and talking to Father Jabari about her captivity and what was done to her, make him cringe as even Habibah's history came to him. How strong both of those women were yet so blind they were to it as well.

Dismissing himself, he made his way to the bedroom, hoping she would be alright. Glancing in, he saw her sitting up, hugging her knees to her chest as her eyes seemed distant and lost. Quietly, he walked over to her, hoping not to disturb her too much as he sat on the edge of the large bed.

"Why me?" he heard her say.

"I don't know." he replied.

"How long did you know I was this?"

"Since Father Jabari first came here about the slave-ring. I really didn't believe him at first, thought it was fake but the more he talked the more I knew it was real." he replied, he knew it was better to give her the truth now, "Afterward, I watched you and how you were, seeing how you looked at certain things or the way you spoke, I could see it then too. Everything you do had a hint of each of them."

"The strongest?"

"Oh that's Melina. You're tenacity and will power to do what is necessary for the sake of people is definitely her."

Silence befell the room as the gentle storm rolled by the windows, "You loved them all, didn't you?"

Hercules sighed, "Yes I loved them all, it was sad to see them marry or pass on but I knew it was life and accepted it."

"So you have been alive for years and accepted death and losing so many people?" she questioned.

"Being alive for as long as we all have, you grow used to it sadly."

"So being a capital does what to me, how long before I pass and you are alone again?"

Oh, that was something he wasn't prepared for, "You won't. Like me, you will live out days as an immortal."

Her head whipped around, "You mean to tell me I will never die?"

"Yes. We get hurt like humans but do not die unless our nations are disolved or the population dwindles down to nothing, then we will fade."

Her eyes looked at her hands as she stretched out her legs, "Seems sad."

"It does at times, yet we all have each other." he reassured her.

Those green eyes looked at him once more, almost begging for nothing but the truth, "So all of us, everyone in the other room won't die?"

He gave a small smile, "Yes, we all are personifications."

Something sparked in her eyes, like a realization and understanding, "Alright. But now I just need to know more."

She moved around to face him, her eyes still teary as determination crossed her, "Tell me everything about the personification and what we have in store for us?"

Hercules smiled at her, a small hope filling him as he faced her, "Alright, I'll tell you everything."


	6. Chapter 6

The cool water lapped at her feet, making her feel as if she was soon to drown.

"Feriah, you're not even in yet."

"I'm aware, yet I feel like I am."

That wasn't far from the truth. She really did feel like she was going to drown when she took another step in, didn't help that her past was screaming at her at that moment. The sights and sounds blocked her thoughts as she felt Hercules take her hand, "It's alright, I'm right here."

She watched him, seeing how he moved away from her yet held tightly to her hand, how he tried so hard to coax her into the water. Slowly, she moved her feet, feeling the cool water rise up her legs, sending a harsh shiver up her spine.

"That's it. We made it out here last time, you can do it again." he smiled at her, his thumb brushing over her finger.

Any way of comfort and reassurance, he gave it to her. To calm the past or her racing mind, he did whatever he could to just have her lean on him and relax. Once the water licked at her hips, she froze, feeling the fear well up in her, her grip on him harder as it all came back.

"You're ok." he said, pulling her sight to him, "You are just fine. Focus on me Feriah."

She locked with him, keeping her eyes on his as he pulled her closer to him. She felt the water rise higher, covering her navel as he began to lean in the water.

"Hercules, please." she pulled back, breaking the contact.

"Feriah, you're ok. I promise, I won't let anything bad happen to you." he took her hand once more, "Just let the water cover you. Like a bath."

Feriah just stared at him, those were two totally different things, nowhere near the same. Yet his hand held hers, pulling her closer as he gave her a slight nod. She followed him, trying to silence the fear that screamed in her ears as it rose up past her breasts. She felt herself shiver in the water as he continued to coax her in, finally pausing as it sat just above the cups of her bikini.

"There, look at you now. Even farther than last time." he smiled at her, "Very good. And you are still ok, see."

She looked around, waiting to see something float past her, waiting for- Hercules's arms wrapped around her, pulling her against him.

"What the hell?" she shouted.

"Just relax, I have you." he replied, "Just hang onto me please, and kick your feet lightly. Like you are walking through the ruins, just ever so gently."

Feriah glared at him in puzzlement but did as asked. Her arms found themselves around his neck as she moved her feet like so, feeling the water move around her as he just stood there.

"See, do you see how that feels? That free movement, the water moving around you?" she heard him ask as she nodded, "That's good, that's what it's like to swim. To feel weightless and free. It's heavy yet not, understand?"

"I think I do."

"Good, just keep this up." he said as he held onto her.

Feriah was unsure of what he meant or what he was grasping at but the more she did as he said, the more she could feel it. The strange weightlessness surrounded her as she moved in the water, hanging onto him for all she was worth. But the more she kept it up, the more relaxed she felt. The water just licking her skin lightly as its gentle rolling lulled her, feeling Hercules's arms around her, just tight enough to prove he was still there.

"There you go." she heard him whisper in her ear, "You're doing great, Feriah. More than you could have ever imagined."

It oddly was relaxing, calming really. She lightly let go of his neck, letting her one arm move out along the water as her mind focused on his touch. That in itself was keeping her focused, more than she would have thought. Was this really how people felt when in the waters, so free and relaxed as it gave her a gentle comfort and a lulling lullaby of sounds? It was magical almost.

"Feriah?" she heard him say.

"Yes?"

"Feel good?"

She nodded, noticing her middle was cooler than before yet let her arms move together. She looked up at him, only to notice him farther away than before. The small smile adorning his lips as his own arms moved around him. Then it hit her. She was sitting in the middle of this beach, far away from the land, out of his reach and comfort, swimming. A child's scream of play filled the air. Her mind froze as everything replayed in her head, the icy waters surrounding her as the shocking burn filled her body just to see those lifeless eyes once more. Panic filled Feriah, she thrashed around to find something solid as the water seemed to have swallowed her whole. She tried desperately to grasp onto something yet there was nothing there at all. Until something yanked her up out of the water.

"Feriah!"

She threw herself at the solid piece before her, grasping tightly to it as she shivered and panted in fear. Sputtering coughs left her as she tried to focus on what was around her, just to feel a hand rub her back. Hercules. It was Hercules she was clung to, gripping him so hard that she should've heard bones break or heard him beg for desperate breath, yet he gave none as she heard the light Greek leave his lips. Fuck, she messed up again.

"Üzgünüm."

"For what?"

Feriah leaned her head against his shoulder, "For screwing it up."

She felt him move around as the water seemed to move away from her body. Looking up, she realized he was carrying her out of the water as he made his way to the beach. She tried to protest, to have him put her down but it went on deaf ears until she felt her bottom connect to the soft sand below the towel. Only then did those green eyes meet hers, worry lacing them as he looked at her.

"Why do you think you screwed it up? You are learning to swim, nothing drastic." he asked,"Oris there more you want to tell me?"

Now that was unplanned. She wasn't thinking he'd try and dive into her past, let alone what Father Jabari told him, but those eyes held it all before her. He wanted her to speak to him about it all, but in truth, she wasn't even ready to relive those days either, "There's nothing to speak of."

She could see it, it was written clear as day on his face yet he made no notion of pushing her farther on it. A worried sigh left him as he sat before her, "You do you I am here for anything, yes?"

"I am aware."

"Then please don't hide me from your past. Let me know you." he replied, "I have figured out so much so far by just being with you, not even speaking, yet you won't go any farther than that."

"It's safer."

"How so?" she could see him getting annoyed with her.

How else was she to tell him about the hell she lived? 'Hey Hercules, want to know what the ring was like for me? Guess after you hear it you won't look at me the same.' Yea no, it wasn't happening.

"Feriah." he spoke gently to her, his fingers laying on her knees, "There is no past that will chase me away if that's what you are afraid of."

Ok then, he was reading her more than she thought, "Never said that."

"Don't have to. I can see it. So please, Feriah, let me-"

The chime of his cell phone called his attention. Saved by the chime in this case. She let him answer the device, letting her mind wander on what she should have done or what she should do. Maybe letting him in would be a good thing yet the more it came to her mind, the deeper her thoughts went. 

"Skata!" she heard him whisper harshly as he looked over at her, "We have to go."

Well, there went the rest of the swimming lessons and him asking her to talk now.

 

 

"How close was it this time?" he asked Gupta.

"Too close. Im Yong is on a fritz now, doesn't help he just gained Lailani. The poor girl is pretty shook up over it and now Raivis had two sets of members in his capital, attempting to trap Ai. The man is ready to let loose if it wasn't for Ivan and Toris."

Hercules looked over at the door, seeing the normally quiet and scared man, holding his capital close to him as Im Yong was setting out a slew of his tongue to Taj and Kiku. Genesis was getting more and more out of hand as the days rolled by.

"Where's your girl?" he heard Dryas asked.

"With ours, I believe." Sadiq answered for him as he came up to them all, "I know mine wanted to speak with her about something."

"That was what I wanted to ask." Gupta stated as he turned to him, "Have you gotten her to open up about her past? I know Neema wants to try and see what she can find yet every time she tries, Feriah seems to shut her out."

Hercules suppressed a laugh, "She's made it as far as I have sad to say. It isn't like I haven't tried." 

It was the truth. Feriah barely spoke of her past and any time he did, she just shut him out and asking the old man got him nowhere. Every time he asked him, all Father Jabari would say was 'let her tell you, it's her story, not mine' and that was starting to irk him a little. He wanted to know why she was so afraid, why she hid so much from them all yet he didn't want to drive her away either.

"Seems like the meeting is going to take place with whose all here." Dryas pointed out as laptops and phones were left open. 

Now it was serious, an open meeting like this over devices meant it was more serious than thought. Taking his seat, he waited as the German came up to the podium, the look of worry lying in his features.

"Now then, we are beginning and not wasting time on this." Ludwig began, "Since we had found Nora and gained more intel of what lies within Genesis. It has come to the notion that there may be more rats out in our governments than believed."

"I thought you Axis and Allies gathered that information months ago?" he heard Vlad ask.

"We did, yet that official was caught as well by Genesis and silenced before we had the chance to finish what we could find." Ludwig replied, "Does not mean that more won't join them to save their own skins. And that is what we are up against as we speak. At most a total of one hundred government official spreading from Portugal to South Korea have been found, all placed under arrest and waiting for punishment. It is slowly becoming the fear that many of us have."

"Overthrow." Hercules muttered under his breath, hearing Sadiq hum in agreement.

He has seen it before, so many rulers and beliefs over time to where his own mother suffered under those hands. It was a sick and deadly way for things to fall around a nation, for when the people revolted about something and the government fought them, the nation took the brunt of it the most. He could hear the American and Russian give heavy sighs over the phones, knowing the truth behind them.

"With that and the fact that they are becoming brazen enough to come into the capital in broad daylight and attempt to hard the new capitals itself have us up in worry too." he nodded over to the two men.

"It's not the first time that they have come into the lands like so." he heard Im Yong say, "They did it in yours and Canada's if I'm correct and we all know that they hit Norway. The man flipped out over it so bad that no one can cross his borders without being massacred in the storms."

Hercules was lucky to have seen those pictures that day, the huge wall of ice and snow that surrounded the nation was proof that the man meant serious business to even lock his own population within. Yet it seemed that they were blinded to it.

"I am aware it's not the first nor will it probably be the last. As of now, all nations have gone to their highest protection protocol and tightened everything to their strongest limit. That is all we can do until we can pinpoint what is going-"

Ludwig was silenced as the room went dark. Laptops laid blank or frozen with images as the lines gave a dull tone.

"Um, power's out." he heard Dryas say.

"Hercules?" Ludwig asked with worry in his tone.

"It happens at times. Sometimes strays will go where they don't need to." he replied.

"Not what I would have said since you asked me for money a few months back." he heard the man huff.

"I'm not that bad in money issues."

It was true, he was trying to get his nation and people back to a decent time before the crisis and so far some plans had helped out a little but still had some kinks in it. Not that he wasn't trying.

"So now what?" Sadiq said, "Can't have a meeting here in the dark."

"I don't know." he heard Ludwig reply only to have a scream cut through the air.

Hercules's head whipped around, wondering what the hell was causing it until it finally registered in his head, right as the lights all came back on, "Feriah."

He was gone, darting out of the room and flashing down the hallway, hearing the screams get louder as the others followed. He heard her let it out before in the water, yet this one was much different, much darker and fearful than before. Turning the corner, he saw Habibah and Neema trying to open a door, the screams louder from within.

"Feriah, please it's us." Habibah begged, "Let us in."

"Come on woman, get off the door." Neema added as she tried the knob again.

"Girls?" he lightly nudged them aside.

"She's in the room, we left for a moment for drinks when the lights when out, that's when hell broke loose." Neema said as he tried the knob.

"Feriah, it's me, Hercules." he yanked on the door, "Feriah, please, get off the door."

He fought with the piece, hoping that it would budge but she either was holding it or had it jammed. He tried to open it again, shaking the knob as her screams grew louder, fearful for her life. Was someone of Genesis within? Panic started to roll through his head as Sadiq and Dryas tried to help him, leaning against the wooden piece, finally giving it a slight nudged.

"Again you two." he huffed out as they pressed themselves against it, finally having it fly open and she fell out into his arms.

She was a mess. She fought him as he wrapped his arms around her, feeling the fear course through her as she attempted to fight him off of her. 

"Feriah, it's me. It's Hercules!" he said over her shrieks and cries.

What the hell was wrong with her, she was so far gone at that moment that nothing was working as he held her there. Dryas tried to grab her arms as he heard Habibah try and reason with her as well, just to hear footfalls echo the halls.

"Let her go! Jetzt!" the familiar sharp German came up to him.

As Dryas and Habibah moved aside, he saw Marie come before her, staying out of reach of her thrashing arms. With effort, he finally grabbed ahold of them, making her scream out more as she continued her flight or fight of him.

"Feriah, listen. It's gone, you aren't there. You are elsewhere. Far away from it." he heard Marie tell her, "You're in Greece, not there. There's no harm coming to you."

It was all null, Feriah still tried to fight as he tried not to hurt her. Her nails dug into his arms as she kicked and swung her head back, only now Marie held her face o her own.

"You're not at war Feriah, you are in Greece. There is no war, no ring, no nothing. There's no death or pain. You are free. The war is gone!" the woman shouted at her.

Finally, Feriah calmed down ever so slightly as Marie repeated her words. His gripped eased on her as worry overcame him. What the hell happened to his Feriah?

"Neema?" he heard Marie say, "Hercules. I think we will need a room. Just the four of us."

He gave a nod to them both, knowing what was to come and knowing that his heart wasn't fully prepared either.

 

"Alright Feriah." he watched as Marie and Neema readied themselves in front of her. They had him away from her, demanding him to not make a sound as they spoke with her. 

He knew it was for her own good, he knew she hated showing weakness and her speaking about it all and in front of him was nothing but that in her mind. It had taken twenty minutes of just Marie coaxing the woman down and that wasn't even anything else, and knowing Marie's specialty of PTSD, he knew it was bad.

"Now I want you to start from the beginning, right where it all began. Why do you work for the rings? Why do you feel connected to them? Why do you want to hide away from others and not speak to them? Is it all linked as well for why you can't swim? Or why the room scared you so?"

Geez, the woman was short and to the point, that he knew well of the German. He saw Neema give him a stern look before her eyes went back to Feriah. He knew they would get her better than most, especially Marie. Hell, she even got Ludwig to break down, got Eliza and Gil to confess, even had Tim and Jett to even look at themselves a little more.

"Isn't it obvious?" he heard Feriah say.

"It can be but we want to hear it from you." Neema said.

A sigh left her, "I work the ring for I lived in one."

That shocked him a little, she lived in one. So did that mean she also understood Habibah on a personal level that many couldn't see? He waited as she continued to speak.

"I was born into it. Both my parents were escaped slave children, finding peace within a village in Van Turkey. They knew what it was like and prayed that no others would suffer under it but they knew it wasn't so. So they gathered a group of people up to stop it. They did it for a while, working different nations and gaining people like them, including Father Jabari. Time went and then I came along. I remember growing up and seeing all these kids around me. I always viewed them as siblings that needed a hug or just someone to play with. I never really understood their lives until I saw it first hand. To say I was scared was a lie, mortified really. It was a ring that was small, they killed the ones running it, but they were still late for most of the children within. So many bodies and the smell. You'd think that after all these yearsI'd forget such a smell. Nah, it just haunts me."

Hercules wasn't sure what to think as he listened to her, his own heart ached and it wasn't even fully started as she sighed, "One day, I remember my mother flying into my room. Worry and panic written on her face as shouts filled the house. She threw me under the bed, demanding me to be quiet and not to move. The moment she stood up to get out of the room, they came in. They beat her down to the floor as she tried to fight them. But all it did was spur them on. Of course, they had their way with her, she fought them but all it did was make them happy with what they were doing as they slit her throat. Yet there I was, a child no more than ten years old, watching my mother be raped and killed before me. I somehow stayed quiet, barely moving as her blood came over to me in my hiding spot."

He watched as her hand reached out as if she was seeing the hell before her eyes once more, "Yet of course, there was no real saving me either. They knew I was there, and it wasn't long until they found me. Carried me downstairs as I tried to fight them, hearing my father call out for me as they forced him to see his dead wife and them...them take me as well. Once all was said and done, the pain controlling my body as I heard my father beg me forgiveness for his weakness, they shot him before me. It was then my real hell began."

He wanted her to stop, to end her suffering and yet his own heartache as he envisioned the hell she lived with, but she pressed on, I couldn't tell you how long I was in that place, or how many faces I saw. But god I wanted death. I wanted to get away so bad that I could have tasted it. Day after day, night after night, I did what they wanted. To any person that came in, man or woman, rich or poor, whatever they wanted I was demanded to give or be severely punished. There were times they whipped my feet, left me in a dark room for days on end only coming in to satisfy needs, had my fingers broken and reset with a few other bones, fed rotten food and if I got sick I was forced to eat it again. I just wanted it to leave me alone. A doctor came in once, asking for young boys and girls, to see what we had. Of course, I was picked for I was pretty. I think it was the time I prayed that I'd be ugly so they'd leave me alone. His favorite thing was dropping us all in this giant pool that seemed to go on forever. So deep and dark yet even looking around, it seemed to have no end. He would leave us in it, see how long we would last, even for the ones that couldn't swim. I grew to hate that room. I knew where a point was to hand onto and seem like I was swimming, just to shut him up and leave me alone. 

"Then he changed it, he threw us in again yet this one was different and I couldn't find something to hang onto. I was just lucky that the one boy could swim and he hung onto me. I couldn't tell you how long we were in there, but it felt like an eternity. I remember a light dropping in suddenly, shocking me as it seemed to have waked me. I remember him chuckling as I tried to gather myself, only to see lifeless eyes around me. The other children drowned in the pool, their bodies floating as the smell of death finally caught me. I shook the boy that helped me, yet noticed his eyes as well, lifeless and dull. I was the only one that survived. The sick bastard plucked me out as he threw me into another dark room, this one just full of the sickening smell of death. I reached out to see what was there as my hands fell into something sticky and thick, of all smells, that metallic one sticks with you the most. I knew what I was in yet tried not to think of it until he came back in and flipped the lights on. Bodies laid on the table as they too stared at me. I couldn't do it anymore. I ran. I ran as fast as I could, escaping his grasp and more. I just was determined to get away. I found a door, the sun shining through it. I didn't even think to check it as I ran full force into it, thankful that it opened. I was never more thankful for the sun or the sandy rock below my feet as I continued running. It was then I saw others running into the building, guns drawn and shouts filling the air. I was scared that I entered an even scarier hell, just for a set of arms to come around me. I looked up to see a sweet face, one of scared of past yet understanding of the present. Father Jabari." Feriah let out a shaky breath as she moved lightly in her chair, "And there you have it. Why I'm such a fucked up mess."

"Holy shit." was all he heard Neema let out.

Holy shit was right, there was so much more to her than he thought and yet there was no way he was going to see all of that, not without her at least.

"Seems like I have a few sessions with you in the future." Marie stated.

"That you do." Neema said.

"So you all say." Feriah noted, "Doesn't mean I'll get it."

"No that's true, yet you spoke to us. Which in this case does prove a point of you wanting some sort of help." Marie pointed out.

"Fine." was all he heard of her, "So if this is done, could you two leave us alone for a little?"

Us two, did she know? "There is only one man that smells of the Mediterranean. So, please?"

Well shit, she did know he was in here the whole time. Marie and Neema agreed as they gave light words to her before leaving them both alone. Now it was all on him and he was clueless about what to do this time.

"I know you're there Hercules, no need to hide from me." she said, "Rather you not anyways."

He got up to sit in front of her, what more could he say, he was still shellshocked of what he just learned of her as well. He could feel her eyes upon him as he tried to gather the words he really wanted to use, yet he couldn't. In fact, all he really wanted to do was just-

"Well, now you know what a fucked up mess I am. And worthless to you as well."

Oh, she didn't. Hercules didn't even think as he stood up and gathered her in his arms, moving to the large chair within the room, nestling her against him as he tried to comfort her.

"I best not hear the word worthless, or any of that sort leave your lips ever again."

"And if they do?"

"I'll prove you wrong."

She scoffed at him, "How so, great Greece?"

He looked into those green orbs, lost in the knowing and truth that was before him yet his gaze traveled to her plump lips, how he longed for them for so long and here he was proving a point. Before she could protest, he cupped her chin and placed his lips on hers, feeling the sweet warmth that they were. A small gasp escaped her as he kissed her, he felt her move slightly, yet she began to curl into him. Her arm draping lazily over his shoulder as the other rested above his heart, relaxing into his touch as he continued to kiss her. Dear gods was she wonderful against him, he could've just sat there all day like so, taking her in as he felt her become more with on with him. He felt her pull away, breaking the kiss as he gave a small humph of protest.

He heard her giggle at him, "So if I call myself worthless or anything of it, you will punish me like so?"

He felt a smile cross his face, "I may, why do you like that punishment?"

"No, absolutely hate it, can't imagine it happening again it was that bad."

That sarcasm was either going to drive him mad or get him in a world of trouble, well, good trouble he hoped, "Well then, I better not hear too much of it unless you want more."


	7. Chapter 7

So many questions and thoughts filled her head, yet very little seemed answered to her. She tried to understand the term of a capital and that there were personifications of nations and capitals. But it all seemed too farfetched to believe. Feriah ran the path, doing her best to process and understand as she mentally thought of the plans for the new ring that popped up. She was just lucky for that little slip up on their behalf, she was more lucky that Hercules was willing to be a fake buyer and pull what he could as well. Well, all that and finally letting out the truth of her. She was afraid that Hercules would want nothing of her, that her past destroyed her too much yet he proved that wrong. Every time she spoke with Marie or Marissa or even Neema, he was there, hands on her shoulders as he whispered what he liked about her and how strong she was. Those little things, how minute they seemed yet, in reality, they were holding her together more than she thought.

There was never a moment he wasn't beside her now. Ever since she learned of him and what was real, she really couldn't get him out of her mind even. He was like a movie on constant replay as he gave her that cheeky smile or those hypnotic eyes glance her way. There was never a dull moment with him either, always proving her wrong in some way. He made sure she understood the threat of Genesis and what it had with her, how to use more than her usual Canik TP9 for defense, and how to swim as well, giving her confidence within herself and teaching her of the nation and its rich history.

That as well also shocked her, how old they all were. None of them looked past the age of twenty-five, let alone hitting thirty. Yet he, Sadiq, Dryas, and Gupta were all hundreds of years old. She shook her head at it, hearing Neema and Habibah scold her for thinking down upon it all.

Now those two, they were more saving graces than thought. Once she got the truth, she spent nearly every waking moment she could with them, asking question after question which they gladly gave to her and with it she had bonded quite deeply to them. Making the turn around the bend, she saw the city slowly coming to life as she let the months fly through her head again.

A high pitched yowl caught her ears as a set of laughter caught her. Looking around, she found the source as a group of teens seemed to be messing with something, only when she looked harder did she see what they were doing.

"Hey!" she hollered at them, running down towards them, "Stamáta to!"

They all ran away as she was near them, shouting at one another as they fled. She stopped at the alleyway watching as they all scattered like roaches in the sun. The pained yowl came back to her, looking down she saw the little kitten that they were kicking around. Carefully, she leaned down and picked it up, cradling it against her chest as she tried to quiet its upset.

"There now, you're ok. They're gone, no more hurt for you." she whispered to it as she stroked its little head. "I know just what to do."

As fast as she could, she made her way to Hercules's apartment within the large place, the one he finally got her to move into after Genesis actions of late. That and the knowledge of Bejing didn't help either. Moving around people and dodging vehicles, she finally found herself upon the doorstep of the small place; she just prayed he was awake. She could hear the skittering of paws run across the floor as she knocked and called out his name.

"You would decide to sleep at this time, wouldn't you?" she huffed to herself as a few more cats strayed from the side.

That was another thing she had slowly gotten used to with him, the number of cats that would grace his side at any given point was maddening but awing as well. She saw the yellow tabby run up to her, weaving himself between her legs as he begged for attention.

"Only you, Ares." she smiled down at him just to hear the tumble lock of the door.

Finally, those green eyes found her as he looked at her with sleepy surprise, "Feriah?"

"About time. I need your help." she said making her way in.

"Um, ok then, nice to see you too." he replied as he came over with her, "What's the matter?"

Placing the tiny thing down on the counter, she sighed, "Found a group of kids kicking and hurting it. I just couldn't leave it there and you're the only person I know that knows so much about cats. So please Hercules."

"No need to ask." he said as he took the tiny thing in his hands.

Light whispers of Greek left him as he looked over the little kitten, smoothing his long fingers over its back as he checked its legs and face.

"A ripped claw here on her one foot."

"Her?"

"Yes, it's female."

"How can you tell?"

She heard Hercules chuckle, "She's a calico, and most calicos are female. That and I know what I'm looking for."

Feriah nodded as she watched him continue to work on her, "Seems they tore a little of her pads here, maybe hauled on her as she tried to escape over the road. A singe spot here on the tip of her tail, her ears seem fine but her one eye is closed. Might be infected but can't tell right off. Her teeth look good but she's still quite young, has her baby teeth still. Spine seems good but she does seem to have a limp."

She watched as the kitten walked away from him, attempting to hold her little paws up from the pain as Hercules walked away, "Might be sprained or broken. Hold her for me Feriah."

Feriah picked her up, holding her to her chest again as she rubbed her fur, feeling the bone under it, "Poor baby."

"Alright, hold her against your chest while I figure out which leg it is."

She held her as best as she could, feeling the little thing squirm in her hands, "Come on now, we're trying to help you."

"Comfort her, she feels like you are going to drop her. Surrounder with yourself."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You have boobs, use them."

"Hercules!" she couldn't believe that came out of him.

"What I'm a man, I've looked." he said as he straightened the kitten out between her breasts, "There, just like that."

Oddly she seemed to quiet down as he stretched each leg out, "What are you-"

A sharp shush came to her as he closed his eyes. His fingers traced her legs as she seemed to just ignore him until he moved to her front leg. Only then did she try and bite, letting out a pained mewl as he quickly moved around. Before she realized, he had wrapped up the leg, making sure that no movement could be gathered as he moved to her hind legs.

A distraught meow caught her as Hera jumped up on the counter her mixed-matched eyes looking over the two of them as he pulled yet another pained cry from the kitten, making Hera jump on his shoulders.

"Not now Hera. I'm trying to help her." he said as the white cat looked over him.

"She's just being a mom and worried about the baby." Feriah smiled at the motherly cat, knowing she cared for all of them around the house as if they were her own, including Hercules.

"I know and she can now." he replied, "Her one leg, as I felt, is fractured while the other is sprained. There's a local vet here that I can take her to."

Feriah just smiled at him, it was interesting, to say the least. He cocked his head at her in curiosity but all it made her do was giggle at him, "What?"

"You. I never knew you to be such the cat veterinarian."

He smiled, "Well some of us are better with some animals than others."

"Like who?"

He sat down at the table as she placed the kitten on the plush bed as Hera waited patiently for her. Moving to join him, Feriah waited anxiously for him to speak.

"Well, Sadiq and Gupta are good with horse and camels, Tim is good with horses as well along with rabbits. Man can fix either of those two up, no matter the difference. Yao is pretty good with pandas as Taj and Prem are the ones that know elephants best. Gilbert is good with birds, mostly any kind as Ludwig is one for dogs. Last I remember Jett worked with animals from the outback, mostly koalas and kangaroos while Logan is normally found with the kiwis and other smaller animals of New Zealand." he explained, "Each nation can care for their animals, just gotta see who has the strongest pull to them."

"Wow." Feriah sighed, "That's actually fascinating."

"That I know so much?" he smirked.

Feriah scoffed at him as she felt herself smile at him, he really was something to be around. She thought on the day she first arrived, unsure and worried about the world as she plotted the end of the ring, never would she have imagined herself here with answers to her dreams and falling for the personification himself.

"Do I need to send a rescue party in there?" she felt him tap her head as he grinned at her.

"Hayır, kaybeden."

"I am not, diavolikí gynaíka."

"How am I evil?" she asked him.

"You taunt me."

Feriah just shook her head at him, knowing that the banquet wasn't far from time, "Alright, you had your fun, so what do you need for this banquet tonight?"

"Nothing really." he sighed, "Just have to look good and be friendly with people."

"Ah, the two things I lack."

"Feriah." his voice laced with warning.

"Ne?"

"You know what."

"Fine, I won't talk bad. But still, me and friendly with others doesn't work very well."

"You're friendly with Habibah and Neema, along with Sadiq and Dryas and Gupta."

"But I know them. Strangers and I don't mix. Besides, you want me to join you and I have nothing to wear that...fancy."

"Habibah has that covered so no worries." he told her, "Which in fact they should be here-"

A solid knock came to the door as he gave her that cheeky smile, "Now."

"Persistent man." she sighed, wondering what trouble would be caused for that night.

 

Before long, Feriah found herself in the bedroom, trying not to glance in the mirror, terrified of what she'd see. She was shocked that Habibah had anything for her, let alone the dress she was in. It was beautiful as it moved with her body, it's flowy length close to her legs. The golden clip that held the shoulder in place sparkled as the royal purple stones within added a flare she was shocked to find fit together. All she had to do now was grab the sash and place her hair where it needed, and Habibah already demanded that she was doing so. 

How Feriah found herself in this predicament was more so than she thought. It seemed that no matter what she did, she found herself almost glued to his side, joining him in things that she normally would have laughed at and walked away from, yet here she was all dolled up and presentable for a banquet full of snobbish aristocrats. Shaking her head, she walked back into her bedroom, seeing Habibah at the table, cards out before her as Feriah went to her side.

"Alright, might as well get the rest of this over with." she said to the woman, yet no reply came, "Habibah?"

Feriah looked at her, the sweet woman's eyes seemed transfixed on the cards before her, small little wells pooling at the corner of her eyes.

"Habibah, sweetie what's wrong?" Feriah dragged the chair next to her as he brushed her fingers over the woman's cheek.

Finally, her dark eyes landed on her, "Oh, sorry Feriah, just got lost in the reading."

"Lost my ass, you were crying, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing to worry over." she said, hoisting herself up to her feet as her belly protruded outwards, "Let's fix your hair now."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong. What are the cards saying?" Feriah demanded.

Yet she wasn't given one. Habibah took the brush through her hair as she asked for pins and ties, pulling and messing around upon her head.

"Look Habibah, I know you always tell me to speak up when something is wrong, so why won't you?" she pleaded the woman, "Please Habibah, as my friend. I'm actually worried about you."

A heavy sigh came from behind her, hearing the chair move slightly. Feriah turned around to see Habibah looking over the cards, her eyes drawn to them as she placed her hand on her belly.

"You know, I never thought against the cards. I always believed they showed me the truth, and they mostly have. I saw Neema's change to Cairo, saw you coming to Greece, even my pregnancy and finding Sadiq." her lower lip trembled, "But now, now there's nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?"

"That's just it. Every time I think of someone else, you, for example, I can see you. The fates changing here and there as I ask or look for certain things but when I think of myself it's the same. I've even used three different sets of cards, shuffled them multiple ways and more, yet it's still coming up the same."

Feriah was starting to become worried about her, "Habibah, what's wrong, what are they saying?"

A shudder rocked the woman as she took in a shaky breath, "There is nothing. No future, no husband, no child of mine, nothing."

"Oh, now that's just madness." Feriah stated, "Look at you, you're here nearly eight months pregnant with Sadiqpractically up your ass in worry over you, don't tell me nothing-"

"They've stopped as well."

"What stopped?"

"The dreams. The women within then, they've stopped coming."

Now that shook her a little, "Habibah, I'll admit mine aren't as loud as before but they're still-"

"Yes I was the same, but they only stop when you change. I haven't changed yet each day that passed, a soul seemed to have left me. One by one they all left and now, I see the future of myself. And I think, was I meant to be a capital?"

Feriah gripped the woman's shoulders, forcing her to look at her, "Listen to me Habibah, they're probably going silent due to your change coming. Maybe that's what the cards are showing you, that your change is coming."

"But the one card is death and-"

"But to be a capital you must die!" Feriah nearly screamed at her, "There is nothing to worry about Habibah. You will become Ankara and the little baby inside you will be Istanbul or Izmir or Bursa or whatever city it wants to be. You will be with Sadiq for all eternity and have Neema and I as best friends until the very end. Do you hear me?"

Habibah stared at her with wide eyes, she even shocked herself with how she handled the woman, but she knew why. Years of seeing death and more before her eyes was the reason behind it, the very thought of anyone close to her dying set of a barrage of nightmares before her eyes. It was even scaring her that she would have to die to become a capital herself, but of all people she didn't want to see death happen to, was the sweet woman before her.

"Ok, you're right. Maybe I'm just over thinking it all and not reading them right." Habibah smiled at her, "I just get overwhelmed with it all. Plus this one moving around me doesn't help."

Feriah chuckled at her, seeing the round globe of Habibah's belly move slightly as a foot came to her hand, "I'd agree there."

"Right, well, let's add some extra things to you to have you sparkle tonight." Habibah told her as a small glint of trouble sparked in her eyes, "That, and I think you and Hercules need to play a little game with each other."

"A game huh?" Feriah smiled at the mischievous woman, "What kind of game?"

Habibah giggled at her, the woman's hand caressing her belly, "The same game Sadiq and I played that led me to this very predicament."

 

 

"And here comes the more of a headache." he heard Sadiq say as the presidents of the two nations spoke tightly to one another, "What do you think they'll fight over this time?"

Hercules shook his head, his gaze in his glass, "For once I hope nothing."

"Now my friend, you know as well as I do that isn't an option when it comes to politics."

He knew the man was right, no matter where he went, there was some world leader that had to puff out their chest to look good, man or woman for that matter. It was something that was just normal in their world.

"Seems to me your mind is still stuck on Feriah." Gupta said, coming to their sides.

Well, that was true enough. Ever since learning the truth of what happened to her and what came with it, he had been practically by her side, making sure she was positive about herself. Having her talk to Marie and Marissa and even Neema for that matter and he knew Cairo would add Habibah to the mix as well. But since exposing the truth of her past, she had awoken a few times with nightmares, ones that scared the hell out of him as she screamed next to him. He could still hear her apologizing to him for it all, but he just calmed her down and let her relax with him.

"Can't help it."

"She doing any better with talking to the girls?" he asked.

"So far, there are days that are good," he replied taking a quick sip, "and days that are bad. This morning was one. Don't know what she dreamed of, but it was ugly."

He heard Sadiq sigh, "It's a hard world Hercules, I was there with Habibah. Poor thing was terrified to sleep. She told me once that she was afraid to, that when she woke up she'd be back there and away from me."

"You serious?" he heard Dryas say, finally coming into the conversation.

"Yea. It hurt to see it and hear it. There are days even today where she just stares off into nothing, but you know she's reliving those nightmares." Sadiq replied, laying a hand on his shoulder, "That there, Hercules, is where you need to prove to her that the nightmares are just that. Past. No more harm will come to her and you won't disappear."

The man was right when Habibah first met them all, she was terrified of her own shadow and now, she was practically the mother they all needed to have around as she just beamed nothing but happiness.

"You're right." he told him.

"Of course I am, bout time you agreed." Sadiq chuckled with Gupta.

"Bok." Dryas let out in a huff.

"What?" he and Sadiq asked as Gupta tried to see what he was looking at.

"Oh I see now." the Egyptian said, "Good luck."

The man patted his shoulder as Dryas's eyes were stuck at the opening of the banquet hall. What the hell was going on? Looking around, he tried to find the source of their actions, just to feel Dryas move his head to the spot, only then did his own jaw drop.

There coming down the steps was Feriah. Her hair up in the ornate way of the Greeks, he could see the added gems to the braids and pins that Habibah placed on her. The olive green dress stood out against her tanned skin, the white sash adding an illumination to her just for the gold and amethyst jewelry stood out. Dear god, it was like looking at one of the goddesses before him, yet she really was his.

"Well, then." he heard Sadiq say, "Looks like Hercules here has some issues to deal with."

"What issues?" he asked him just to feel Sadiq place something in his breast pocket.

"We'll leave you alone with her." he said, taking the other two with him.

What the hell was that about? Reaching into his pocket, he found the foil wrapper as the man's laughter reached his ears, "Haha, funny. Not likely."

Although he did wish to dive into that world, he wouldn't touch her, not without her ok at least. Finally making his way down to her, he felt a sting of jealousy as he saw the prying eyes of all the men around them, watching as she walked over to him. A primal need to protect was slowly overcoming him as she smiled at him.

"Well, aren't you handsome tonight." she spoke sweetly.

"Look at yourself." he took her hand, kissing the tender knuckles upon it.

He saw the blush rush to her cheeks at his action, making her look like a school girl crush, "So, do I hold out the Greek style well?"

She twirled in front of him, her poppy scent hitting him like a wave of the sea. She sparkled and glowed before him, never seeing her so radiant than now, "That you have, Feriah. Habibah did well with you."

"Too bad she couldn't come along."

"Yes, but she is quite heavy now and Sadiq would be more of a pain in the ass than he already is." he told her.

"True, true." she sighed as she smirked up at him, "But speaking of them, she gave me a great idea."

The glint in her eye said it all, he was in trouble, "Really, what is it?"

"A game." she sauntered over to him, her body practically molded against his own, "A game of will-power and tease."

He knew what she was up to, heard Sadiq rave over what Habibah did to him at his president's event and the actions that led to it afterward, "Guessing, we see who's the strongest then?"

She hummed in reply in his ear, her hands ghosting up the front of his dress coat just to lay nimbly on his shoulders and her breath tickle his ear, "However long it takes, may it be a half hour or longer, I can tease you, however, I see fit. Either with looks or touch, but the longer you last the better it'll be in the end."

"You do realize," he whispered to her, his hand caressing the bare skin of her back, "That it can go both ways in this case."

"Well, that's where the point of will-power comes in." she practically purred in his ear as her hips brushed his forming arousal.

Hercules knew it wouldn't be long, he would snap under the pressure before long but he wanted to hold out, to change the tables on the game and have her nearly bursting for it.

"Fine then, let's begin."

With that, she took off. Leaving him open and bare in front of everyone. Ok, she was going to be difficult. He watched her sway her hips away from him, almost baiting him to her. She was ready to play this game and she was playing hard as she smirked at him, and if she kept it up, he wouldn't make it as he watched her wrap her lush lips around a strawberry, licking the falling juices from them. Oh, he was in trouble as he heard the others laughing behind him.

"Alright, little kitten, want to play. I'll play."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a sexually themed chapter.

For nearly two hours, she kept up that game. And damn was he good. At some points, he ignored her a little too well for her liking, almost as if he was bored with her and the play that she was creating. Yet like all things, the resolved starts to crumble. It didn't help that the boys would tease him unmercifully, placing condoms and such in his pockets, making him more agitated as she drove him insane. But it was such fun torturing him. 

Every chance Feriah had she took it. Brushing her knuckles along his crotch, whispering seductively in his ear, a twirl of her body and blushing grin. Hell, even eating some of the fruits there had him nearly popping out at her, the green of his eyes growing darker with need. She was glad she took Habibah's words to her own, this was more fun than she had planned. Although, he did add some of his own in as well. While dancing, the sly man had his lips dance across her neck and shoulder, sending little shivers down her spine and to her core. The lazed look in his eyes gave way to something more dark and delicious yet he would not let it out in any way, he too would whisper things to her, the deep tone in his voice making her core hot with need. Curse him.

Yet now she found herself outside on the balcony, enjoying the beautiful site of Athens at night. The city having a warm glow as people mingled lightly home and just sunk into the nature of Greece. It was perfect really, not hot or cold, just perfect to linger in the nighttime. Her mind drifted to the day and the reality of what she was, for in truth, she was looking at herself. Well, one day herself. She was to be Athens, a personification, and that still made her mind spin.

"What are you doing Feriah?" she heard him ask.

Glancing back, she saw Hercules nonchalantly leaning on the doorframe, his eyes practically eating her.

She turned her gaze back to the sight, "Nothing, just enjoying the view really."

"Athens is beautiful."

"That it is."

She felt him behind her, his hands resting lightly on her hips, "That it is."

She smiled, feeling his lips brush her shoulder, moving to the curve of her neck. Now he wanted to play. Feriah tilted her head, letting him have a bit of his way before she decided a different path. She felt his tongue dart out to taste her skin, making a small moan emit from her. God, he was good, throughout the whole night, she imagined what he was like under the sheets. How he would take her and love her, how dominating or submissive he was, if he wild or reserved. Everything that came to her, she let it play in her mind. 

His hands coaxed up her sides just to gently skim down her arms as she held onto the stone terrace, his fingers brushing along hers as his body leaned into her own. It was then she realized he was holding her there as he nipped at her neck, making sure she didn't escape him like the times before. Well, she just had to amp this up now. Letting him have his fun, she melted lightly into him, letting the night comfort and calm her as he played. She let it go, waiting for the right moment, placing each noise she made at the right moment and finally it came. He had become so infatuated with her neck, he had neglected other spots and this one was going right to home.

As his lips latched onto her shoulder, she lifted her ass and pushed backwards, feeling his arousal against her just to hear him take a sharp breath. Now she had him.

"What's the matter, Hercules?" she practically purred at him.

Silence was all she got for a moment until it went completely cold, "Nothing. Just thought there was something in need."

Wait, what? Feriah turned around to see him saunter away from her, back into the banquet with the others. No way. He was right there, ready to go and lose yet he backed away from her. Alright, maybe he was a bit better than she thought. She quickly darted in, trying to find him, or even the others, hell his president for that matter for he would be near one of them. Yet it was barren of him. Where the hell did he go? Feriah searched the party, seeing the staircase to the roof seating area yet it was barren of life too. The halls, the bar, the floor and tables, all empty of him.

Seeing the other half of the terrace, she made her way over just to be yanked to the side entrance. Her back met the cool wall as someone pushed themselves against her, their lips covering her own, making her mind swirl in passion. There was only one person that could kiss her like that. She felt Hercules's hand skim her side as the other pinned her hands above her head, his one leg between her own as he pressed his body to hers. The kiss was deep and passionate, making her forget her name and how to breath as his tongue darted past her lip to entangle with her own. Feriah wanted to fall into it, to fall into him and forget that there was a banquet or people around. She wanted him and that was final. To hell with the game, she needed him now. She felt her hips move on their own accord, grinding against his thigh as she heard him moan against her, now she was back in the game of winning.

Suddenly it all stopped, "Banquet's ending. Nothing more to do here."

He did not! Sure enough, Feriah felt him leave her, heading back into the crowded room as he left her a hot, panting, horny mess.

"Fuck!" she quietly let out, curse him and this game now.

She needed him and she wasn't waiting for the drive to the apartment or house. She was having him here and...the seating area above caught her attention. There was no one up there nor did anyone really notice that it was there. Fixing herself up, Feriah looked into the room to see Hercules speaking with the three nations, his eyes glancing her way as she smiled at him. Now to bait him back. Swiftly, she moved up the stairs, watching as the people around her paid her no mind yet she could feel his eyes on her back. There was only one more thing left she could do to get him back. Looking back at him she smiled as his brow furrowed in curiosity, she placed her finger to her lips, a gesture of quiet, just to run her tongue along the digit and swivel it around the tip. Now that had him, his eyes widened as his jaw dropped. She giggled at him as she saw the men laughing at him, for then she disappeared behind the door.

Once away from the bustle of the banquet, she gazed out over the land once more. Sitting on the plush cushions that adorned the area, the gentle breeze tickling her skin as she waited for him, the cooling night air giving way to the time and what would be the new day. Yet she didn't mind, in fact, she could've sat like this every day. She felt like royalty in the area, a princess waiting for her prince, except hers was Greece. She let her mind roll over him once more, thinking of how he spoke, how he moved and looked without that damn t-shirt on, how he smiled and how he'd kiss her. Everything about him claimed her mind as she sat there, relaxed and peaceful.

"You are very naughty, mikro gataki." she heard someone say.

Feriah didn't have to turn around to see who it was, his scent blended into the night around her as she felt his heat radiate from his body. Giving a sideways glance, she saw him standing next to her, his body tense as she smiled.

"How so?" she stood up, facing him.

"Oh, you know how so." he replied, coming closer to her, "So, who's going to win this little game of yours?"

"Are you tired of playing?" she asked him, a chuckle leaving her, "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, I had a nice twist to add to it."

Now she was curious, "Really, and the twist is?"

He was practically on top of her, she could feel his breath linger on her cheeks as he smiled down at her. His hands caressed her bare arms as he had them wrap around his neck, his arms wrapping around her middle as he pulled her close.

He smiled down at her, the cheshire grin growing as his eyes seemed to have something hidden within them, "Whoever orgasms first loses."

Feriah knew her face must've been priceless with shock, it did surprise her with what he said. She didn't think that far off but the more it rolled in her head, the more she wanted to have it come true.

"Well, how shall this begin?"

He shrugged, "Beats me. I'm too lazy to do much of anything."

The little devil. Now she felt her blood run hot, he was baiting her as much as she was him earlier, playing her like a deck of cards for the biggest gamble and with it all, her own control snapped.

"Alright. I'll admit I did let the lazy thing go far during that time, but I haven't said anything in a while about it." she saw him smirk at her, knowing that she was throwing in the towel, "But for the love of god Hercules, I have very little patience left now and it is taking everything within me not to throw you on the ground and just fuck you. So please."

He backed away from her, letting her arms fall from his body. She was puzzled by his movement just to see him stand there, arms open as he smiled, "Then undress me."

He was toying with her, had to be, but her control was gone. She flew over to him, ready to rip everything off of him and see the marvel that was him naked and bare.

"Hold it." he said with his hands up, "Just one thing."

Feriah was ready to just pounce on him now, why the hell was he stopping her now?

"You have to take it all off, slowly. And as you do that, I will do the same to you."

He was joking, right? There was no way he was that serious of this, but the more she looked at him, the more it was laying there behind those green orbs. Fuck, he really did play this game well. slowly, Feriah sauntered over to him, letting her fingers trail down his chest as he rested his hands on her shoulder.

"Fine then. So, how long will you last?"

He smirked at her as she removed his tie and began the descent of buttons, "We shall see."

Ever so slowly, Feriah popped the buttons, exposing the familiar t-shirt beneath the button up. Typical. Yet she continued. She pushed off his jacket as the button up fell with it, pulling lightly on the shirt, she untucked it and pulled it over his head, finally viewing him barechested before her. Oh, how she loved his chest. Her fingers graced the muscle and taut skin before her, roving over the plain that was his torso, little scars here and there, proof of his immortality yet for her it defined him even more. In truth, he was beautiful to her.

She felt the pins of the dress fall to the floor as the shoulder came undone, the sash falling down with them as the one shoulder held up the garment. Her fingers traced his pant line, feeling the extreme heat of his arousal behind it as his fingers moved the shoulder piece aside. His lips peppered her shoulders, nearly making her lose her mind as she finally removed the belt and undid his pants. She couldn't wait any longer. Her hand dove below the tight fabric, gathering him in her hand as a shallow gasp left him. Dear god, he felt amazing in her palm.

"Feriah." she heard him grunt out.

She pressed on, moving her fingertip over the slit of him, the light dampness covering it as she moved around the head of him. With a roll of her shoulder and flick of her wrist, the dress was off of her body, well besides her panties. This was really it. No turning back or faking out, this was truly it and by damn was she ready for it.

"Hercules." she managed to say as he kissed the underside of her ear.

"Are you done with slow?"

"Yes. God, please yes."

Before she could say any more, he lifted her against his chest and laid her within the cushions of the area. His lips were attached to her own in a desperate need she wasn't even aware she had. Feriah was just lucky to think straight at that moment as his hips rolled into her own, the friction of the barriers before them just making it worse. His hands graced her breasts, kneading and rolling her buds, sending electric waves to her core and boiling her blood with need. She couldn't stop the noises leaving her throat, every moan and gasp that came was earned by him. His mouth traveled down, latching on a bud as the other was pulled and teased to make her squirm under him. She had heard a rumor from other capitals and nations that Hercules has a strong sex drive and knew what the hell he was doing, but damn he was more than she thought as he guided down her belly. The butterfly kisses tickled her as she felt her panties disappear out of sight. He moved back up to tease the other side, just for his fingers to enter her wet core.

"Hercules!" she nearly screamed.

She wasn't going to last, there was no way, not with what he was doing to her. His fingers scissored and curled in her, finding that sweet spot within that made her see stars. The tight coil was getting hotter as his teeth nibbled on her bud, moving his fingers faster as he somehow held her down. She couldn't sit still, no way she could as his lips moved down her body again only this time they landed on the sensitive nub. Feriah was ready to lose it. His licked and kissed the bundle of nerves as his fingers brought everything forth, ready to snap on his command.

"Sevgili Tanrım, geleceğim." she somehow spoke up.

"Ochi." 

"What!" she felt him leave her body, cold and wanting as she desperately reached out for him.

What the hell was that for? She was right there for god sake, ready to spill and crown him the victor in this game. So why- her thoughts were silenced as she felt him lift her hips to his own. His manhood laying wantonly at her opening, begging to be where it belonged. 

She felt him lean over her, claiming her lips once more as his head gently slid in, "Are you ready?"

All she could do was nod furiously at him, she couldn't have been more ready. With ease and gentleness, he sheathed himself within her, filling her to the brim with pleasure and awe. He was perfect now. So perfect. His thrusts were easy and cautious as she grew used to him, his one hand caressing her side as the other held her hand, she could see the worry that laid in his eyes. Not only in fear of hurting her but what she had lived with. Feriah reached out to him, cupping his cheek just to wrap her fingers around his neck and pull him down to her. She gave him a deep, passionate kiss, one that she could feel with every fiber of her being.

"You can't hurt me Hercules." she whispered to him, "Please, show me."

She watched as his eyes darkened lightly, the spark of something wilded and untamed coming loose within. Angling her hips against his, he placed her legs over his shoulders, making her feel him in new places, and then he was off. He was jack-hammering into her body at an ungodly speed that nearly had her screaming in pleasure. He was fast, hard, and determined to get her where he wanted her, and if she was to guess, it was seeing the stars above them as she called out his name.

Feriah wasn't sure what was up or down but she knew she didn't want to leave what he was giving her. The depth of his thrusts hitting places she never knew existed, bring a much hotter and stronger coil to its point. Her nails gripped onto his arms as he rolled into her, his gaze never left her, she knew it. Could feel it as it watched her breasts bounce with his actions, when her mouth parted in pleasure, hell every inch of her was being viewed and she could feel it. 

Suddenly he stopped, pulling her off the piece and having her straddle his lap, her legs locked around him as her arms wrapped around his neck, just for her to roll her hips against him. Oh, the face he made when she did that. It brought her own release to the brim as she watched him close his eyes, nearly having them rollback as she did it again and again. Finally gaining a steady rhythm, she rocked and bounced her hips against his, skin hitting skin echoing the air as her own pants and moans mixed with it, yet he wasn't as silent either. She would hear him let out a groan when she rolled her hips just right, his own pants hitting her ear as she continued. Although, her play didn't last long.

She found herself on her back, feeling the smooth wood beneath her as he drove into once more with power and determination, one hand holding her leg up as the other held himself at an angle, hitting that spot from earlier. She wasn't going to make it, there was no way. It was out of her control now. She could feel it sit at the top, ready to spill as his own hips grew sporadic. 

"Oh God Hercules." she panted out, feeling herself tighten up.

"Come Feriah." he whispered in her ear, "Come for me now."

And she did. Feriah felt her body let go as the waves rolled within her veins, the warm pleasure filling her as she came, milking him to his own release as he slowed and twitched within her. She literally could see the stars before her eyes. Her breath short and quick as she came down from it, feeling Hercules rest his head between her breasts. Dear lord, why did she wait so long with him? Well, she knew now that there wasn't anyone replacing this man...God...Demi-God...Immortal. Oh who cares, she was just happy to have him.

"That was amazing." she got out.

She felt his breath tickle her collar as he chuckled, "Good. I like hearing that."

Feriah smiled, "Did hear the other nations and capital talk about your high sexual appetite."

"Oh? And what did you learn after that?"

"They weren't wrong." she kissed him as she felt him relax against her.

No, not at all were they wrong. He was literally a god meant to make love to her and only her. And that she was perfectly happy with.

"Finally, you got laid." she heard a voice say.

Looking over to the door, she saw Sadiq and Dryas snickering as she heard Gupta telling them off below. Feriahlet out a startled scream as Hercules tried to cover her up.

"Get the hell out of here!" Hercules shouted at them.

She heard the door shut as laughter poured out from behind it. Well, there went that mood. She couldn't help but laugh at the moment with them all, knowing that it would hit the girls in a matter of seconds and they would be demanding to know how it was like and if it was good. But she wasn't one of kissing and telling.

"I apologize about that." he mumbled into her shoulder,"That was his revenge for me."

"Revenge?"

"Dryas and I made the mistake of not knocking once to his office and we walked in on him and Habibah as they were getting pretty hot and heavy."

Feriah couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her, hearing him sigh as he looked down at her, "Hey now it was an accident. Wasn't like I wanted to see that much of him."

"Well, you did and now he got his in." she smiled up at him, "So knock before entering a room, dork."

He leaned down and kissed her, full and longing as his body became a comfortable blanket to her. She fell into the moment, feeling whole and complete with him.

"So then, after having a taste of my appetite, want to sample more?" he asked with a devilish grin.

Feriah couldn't even imagine what else he had up his sleeve, and it excited her even more, "With pleasure."


	9. Chapter 9

The sun lightly came into the room, it's rays touching all it could find, including his skin. He let the gentle rays lay upon him, basking him in its early morning glow. It made him feel like a cat in the afternoon, soaking in what it could as it laid peacefully away. That and it didn't help that it was making it look like a goddess laid in his bed. He gazed at her bare back as the sun gave her skin a luminous glow, the gentle rise and fall of her breaths proof of the exhaustion he left her in. Since the banquet, he had proven the appetite he had for the art of lovemaking. taking her as much as he could and showing her so many ways to find pleasure. Not that she complained, most of the times she was just as hungry for it as he was.

He reached out to stroke her long mocha hair, feeling the tresses slip within his fingers. She really was like a goddess to him, and she was his. The sleepy yawn from Cassiopeia took his gaze down to Feriah's lower back. There within the small of her back, laid the kitten she rescued and named those weeks before. Happily laying against Feriah as the sun warmed her as well. He reached down to stroke the little things ears, gaining a happy purr from the tiny thing. She stretched out against his hand, leaning her head against him as she continued her little song to him.

"You are making her claw me, stop." he heard Feriah mumble into the pillow.

Looking up, he was met with her green eyes as they bore into him, upset of her interruption of sleep.

"Sygnómi." he whispered, still petting the kitten, "Didn't mean to wake you."

"Yes, yet you still are petting her, which is making her knead my ass and cat claws in the early morning is not how I wanted to wake up."

He chuckled at her, finally lifting Cassiopeia and placing her on the floor with Hera and Hades. The two kept the little one occupied as he moved back to Feriah, nuzzling his nose against her shoulder. Her sweet scent sent a warm shiver through him, one leading directly to his member. True he had her that night, but the thought of taking her again came to his mind, to hear her moan and call out his name as he buried himself deep within her body. He gently placed a nip on her shoulder, kissing it smooth as a sleepy sigh emitted from her.

"You had me last night, I want sleep."

"But you are awake."

"Because of you made Cassiopeia claw me." she huffed, "Turn your dick off."

He moved along her body, feeling the smoothness of her tanned skin, "But I can't. It's hard when you are so beautiful beside me. That and I will be gone for a few days."

"Bok." she whispered into the pillow.

Her body moved lightly, the thin sheet nearly exposing her naked frame to him as her legs spread apart slightly. 

"Are you saying yes to me?"

Those greens pierced him as he felt her body grow warmer, "Maybe."

Oh that tone, that playful tone he loved on her. He moved behind her, letting his hands coast over her plump ass, feeling her body grow ready as she hummed in approval of his touch.

"If you are going to have me this way, did was you did last time please."

Well now, he couldn't say no to that. His fingers ran along her wet folds, feeling how excited she was for this, slicking them lightly just to place them where they were beckoned most. He knew how to get her there, to make her beg for more. He watched as she wriggled and stretched against the sheets, hums and throaty moans leaving her, proof that his play was the perfect warm-up for her. Finally, he removed his fingers and placed himself deep within her, feeling her slick heat coat him, surrounding him in a bliss that only she could give.

The squeak of a gasp that left her as he hilted in was nearly mind shattering to him, she bucked back against him, telling to continue as she lifted her hips slightly for his play. He gave her body gentle, long strokes. Feeling her body try and hold onto him as he pulled out of her, just to feel her body nearly soak itself as he pushed back in. He kept his pace up, the slow drawn out rhythm just to let his hands skim over her back. He traced her spine and circled her shoulders only to begin kneading and rubbing her back, a little game they both discovered not long ago that they enjoyed quite well. Her moans of pleasure rung right to his member, making him harder and having the need to go faster. Massaging her as he buried himself within her just sent a weird combo of relaxing calm and powerful passion through him, one that tingled up his spine until he couldn't handle it anymore. 

Quickly pulling out, he flipped her onto her back, seeing her shocked expression until he grabbed her hands and lifted her one leg, sinking back where he belonged. Her face twisted up in pleasure as her head sunk farther into the pillow behind her, her pants a need to hear as he went faster and deeper into her. He watched her body fall into it, her chest rising and falling with quick breaths, her breasts bouncing with his hips, her body taking him in as she called out his name. God he knew he wasn't going to last long, and nor was she as he felt her tighten and grow hotter. 

Letting her go, he laid on her fully, wrapping her arms and legs around him and he pounded into her unmercifully. The demand of his own orgasm pulling at every fiber of his being, the strong burn and tingle in his spine and groin beckoning the end, yet it wouldn't go until she did. That was something he made sure of. She was there, her nails digging into him as her heels pressed onto his ass, begging him to continue as she finally snapped within.Her head reared back, her mouth agape before him, sputtering out a mix of Turkish and Greek as she let out his name in her release and then he tumbled. Tumbled head first into the orgasmic bliss he knew was with her. Letting the world spin around him as he felt himself go and bury deeper within her. It was this that he loved, the feeling of being whole, that she was real before him and would always be there. 

Finally, it all came to an end as he rested his head on her breasts, those sweet pillows he loved so much, hearing her catch her breath after her own fall. How he wanted to hold her all day and never leave the comfort that was her, the warmth that she brought and the feeling of being a real man.

"You made a mess." he heard her say.

Lifting his head, he smiled down at her, "Just claiming what is mine."

"I am aware." she said kissing him, "Yet from last night and now, it's a mess below. That and you barely have an hour to make your flight."

Looking at the clock, he realized how much time he placed on her and their lovemaking. Begrudgingly, he removed himself from her, making his way to his bags in question of his trip to Turkey as the very thought of being away from her set a strange turmoil off within in.

"I gotta say, that is still one of my favorite assets of yours."

Hercules smiled as he turned to face her, he watched as she stretched against the sheets once more, showing more of her delicious body to him, "Oh yeah, which one?"

"Your ass." she smirked at him playfully, "It's wonderful in my opinion. Firm yet juicy."

He couldn't help the laughter that erupted out of him, only Feriah would describe him that way. After a moment, he watched her saunter off to beginning her own day. How in the world did he get so lucky?

His cell phone began to ring like mad, vibrating away on the table. With a flick of his wrist, he answered the mechanical piece, "Chaírete."

"Are you on your way to Turkey and can you access your military?" the voice rushed out.

"Uh soon and yes, why what's-"

Dryas interrupted him, "There's an emergency in Turkey, all the nations have been called. You need to get here ASAP."

"Hold on, what is going on Dryas? What-"

"Genesis kidnapped Habibah."

His heart sank. No, not her. Not this. "Give me a moment and I'll be there."

 

 

Two Days Later

 

Hell. That's all that came to his mind. He was a worried wreck as he had his military scavaging the coastline for the sweet woman, even had them going nuts in his own lands for Feriah. She demanded to know what was going on, to see how she could help. But all Hercules wanted was her safe.

"Movement has seised on all sides." he heard Lovino state to everyone within the room, "Right now the Axis and Allies are keeping tight formation around the borders as Genesis seems to be just relaxing in the Middle East."

This was getting to him. The unknown. The fact that the group was sitting still and not budging was bothering him as well. They normally were bouncing around everywhere, leading nations on a mad goose chase, yet they were between Iraq and Iran, a few mingling in Afghanistan as Roshni found a member trying to access her military files in Kuwait City. The woman was just in sheer luck that they didn't find Lekan.

"It is getting out of hand on multiple levels now." he heard one of the European nations say, "We are running around without our heads while your brother and the others are just sitting around waiting for an-"

He was silenced as Lovi threw the ceramic cup at his head, "Do not think, that my fratello is doing nothing with the others. If you didn't see Nora after Yao found her, then you need to shut the fuck up, you don't like it, go back to Serbia and protect your lands."

Now it was official. To piss off one of the quieter nations or ones that didn't try to get into war, was enough to know that everything before them was truly business and it was completely serious.

"Now then, as long as we have everything up to where the stupid group will avoid us, we should be good." the Italian noted, "For now, just keep your military open and keep your eyes open for anything suspicious. The manhunt is on still as we speak for Ankara. Dismissed."

Hercules couldn't get out of the room fast enough. It was depressing. He did everything he could for Sadiq, military, and personnel included in the search as he had them work tirelessly out in the open. What killed him wasn't just the knowledge that they took a pregnant capital that was soon to give birth, but Sadiq himself. The man was hollow, worry constantly upon his brow as he looked over maps and listened to countless radio chatter of what was found and what wasn't. It killed him seeing the once powerful man slowly crumble into a heap of nothing. It wasn't Sadiq at all, no way in hell.

He looked out over the land, seeing the sun beam down on the capital of Turkey, pushing people away into their homes to escape its rays. Yet all he wanted to do was go out there on foot and try to find-

"Hercules!"

Hercules spun around to see Dryas flying up the corridor, "They found her!" 

He was gone. He made a mad dash down the corridor toward Dryas as his heart raced against his chest. Dear god, they found her.

"Where was she?" he asked him as they sprinted out of the building.

"Outside of the border, right between Armenia and Turkey. I didn't get much after that, but god they found her."

A new relief filled him as he thought of the gentle woman, her voice lifting in his ears as she gave him advice for Feriah or even himself. Her tender smile and smiling eyes just beamed such a happiness around them all that not having her was making them more depressed. He wasn't sure how long it took them to run to the place but seeing the hospital insight was nothing more but a great feeling. He nearly tripped inside as he looked around with Dryas.

"If they have her anywhere, it's upstairs. NICU/L&D." Dryas pointed out.

Within minutes, they found themselves in the wing, looking around for anything that stuck out to them. Finally, Gupta came to view. He couldn't have walked faster to him, his own nerves a buzz on the as Dryas was chattering off his ear about what he was going to do to her.

But the happiness that filled him quickly turned to dread when Neema came to view. Tears poured out of the woman as Gupta spoke to her yet all she did was bury her face in his chest, the sob leaving her finally catching both Dryas and himself. No.

Gupta looked at them in worry, nodding down the hall as the woman continued to cry. It wasn't that bad, she was just reflecting what she saw of Nora when she went to help the nations with her. That's all. Habibah was just fine and so was the baby and there was no worry between them all and everything would be-the shatter of glass as a pained cry paused his thoughts.

Turning the corner, he saw Kachina standing there as Taj seemed to be talking to someone, the pain laying the normally strong woman was something he knew wasn't good. Her eyes landed on them, the knowing and hurt lying within them.

"Habibah?" he heard Dryas speak out.

Her lower lip trembled as she shook her head, attempting to hold back a sob as more cries filled the air. No. Not her, not Habibah. He heard Dryas try and collect himself but even it was too much for the man. Hercules could see him drop to the floor, covering his face as he teared up. Yet he stood there, like a damn fool. Unsure of what to do or say. It couldn't have happened. Not one of theirs. Not her especially. She was too kind and sweet, so happy and full of life. Why her? He felt the stray tears fall down his cheek as the scent of a floral mixture came to him. He could feel her touch, the same one she graced him with as a child. The one he missed more than anything.

"I'm so sorry my son."

That was all it took for him. He felt everything once more. His mother's fading, his nations fallings, his own strength in keeping Feriah next to him, all escape out of his grasp as he walked toward Kachina. He just needed answers as to why just answers period.

"Kachina." he somehow got out, "What happened?"

"We aren't sure." she said with a broken voice, "Whatever it was, it was violent."

His heart nearly broke hearing that, Habibah had survived a harsh world before finding Sadiq and them, he didn't want to imagine the pain she was in again. Just to have the baby cross his mind, "And the child?"

"Alive. She's alive. A little weak but alive nonetheless."

She. A girl. Dear god, he could still hear Habibah teasing Sadiq to death with pink dresses and more as she wished for a little girl. And now she wasn't there to raise her.

"What about-" he was silenced with her finger, pointing to the door as Taj left the room.

"Look, Hercules, it is a really tough time. But in truth, you are close to Sadiq as much as Dryas and Gupta are. It would be best for you to speak with him. He's in denial." the Indian man said to him, taking his wife in his arms.

Yes, there was one other that was hurt as he was, and his hurt was much deeper than his own. Entering the room, she saw Sadiq leaning his head against the glass of the window, his knuckles wrapped up as blood seeped passed the white bandage. How could he talk to him? There were times he looked up to him, never down. He wasn't the one so many feared, it was Sadiq when he was the Ottoman that they feared. Yet looking at him now, he was nowhere near that stature. He could feel the anguish pulse off his body with anger and sadness. How could he-

"Please, Hercules. Tell me its a lie." he heard him say.

He couldn't move anymore, he didn't even want to look his friend in the eye as the truth slapped him in the face again, yet he knew he had to.

"Tell me they're wrong and Habibah is alright. Tell me I'll hear her giggles and her voice, hear her nag at me for just putting my feet on the table as she smacks me with a towel. Tell me that I'm dreaming and that she is just in a room, holding our baby and waiting for me to see them both."

Hercules just watched him, seeing him finally turn to face him. His eyes red and sunken in with the truth, the shaky breath that left him as he tried to gather himself.

"Please, Hercules, tell me it's all a dream. Tell me she's...she's..."

Yet the man couldn't continue as he dropped to his knees. Somehow he found the strength to move, to sit before the one powerful empire as he let out his anger and sadness.

"Why her?" Sadiq sobbed into his arms.

"I wish I knew." was all he could say.

"Why? Why?" he pleaded, "Why did they destroy everything that I cared for?"

Did he not know, "What do you mean?"

"They took them away from me, both of them. I have nothing anymore."

"No, no. That's not true." Hercules spoke gently to him feeling the tight lump in his throat, "Not all is gone. Your child is here, your baby. Your daughter."

Somehow that got him to quiet lightly, "Daughter?But they said she wasn't-"

Hercules laid his hands on Sadiq's shoulders, "I spoke with Kachina, she said that she is fine. A little weak but fine. You are not alone. You have your baby girl to take care of."

His broken eyes looked into his own, he could see the fight that Sadiq was putting up as he tried to come to terms. "Daughter. A baby girl, like she wanted."

"Yes, and she's waiting for her baba to come to her."

There. There was the Ottoman he knew as he saw the strength and determination cross his face. Before he realized, Sadiq stood up, strolling pass him, shaky breaths still leaving him. Hercules followed suit, hoping the man wouldn't snap a neck or two on the way in his hurt and anger. Yet all he did was meander to Kachina, no words were said, just the knowing look as she nodded to him and taking him by the hand. There he stood, watching as she sat him in the small office, speaking to him as more shudders of cries left him. And then, Taj brought her in. He watched as the man placed the baby in his friend's arms, speaking lightly to him yet he knew Sadiq heard not a word, for all he saw was Habibah in the baby. It was then, it became too much for him. 

Hercules darted for the door, his mind set on one thing at that moment. He heard Dryas and Gupta call after him yet he ignored them, knowing that Neema would explain it to them. He felt numb. All the pain he kept hidden from so many was coming to surface, and all he wanted was her. Well, not just Feriah in truth. As childish as it seemed at times, this was once where he wanted her as well. To have her guidance like he did all those years ago, to have her touch and gentle voice, yet she was one that would never return no matter how he prayed.

 

 

Before long, he found himself back home. All his cats running to greet him as he dropped the bag on the floor, but he paid them no mind. His goal was in the other room, he could see her sitting there as she looked something over, just to have those eyes glance over at him.

"Hercules?" Feriah's voice rang out.

He couldn't stop himself. He nearly ran over to her, wrapping his arms around her middle, feeling the warmth of her body, the beat of her heart, and the breath that proved she was alive. He didn't want to let go of her, afraid to really. He didn't want to lose her like Sadiq lost Habibahor how he lost his mother and all the great people he had learned to love and remember for his times. He just couldn't stomach it again.

"Hercules, what's wrong?"

"Feriah." he finally got out, "Min me afíneis. Parakaló óchi, óchi san tous."

"What? What do you mean leave you, Hercules, you're scaring me. Please tell me what's wrong?"

He couldn't find the words. All he wanted to do was hold her, prove that she was truly real with him but deep down, he had to tell her. Her fingers graced his head, coming through his hair as she spoke softly in a mix of Turkish and Greek. Dear god, how could he tell her? She loved the woman as much as they all did, and telling her would devastate her.

"Hercules, did Habibah change?" she asked him, "Is that why you are so upset? Was it that bad?"

A shudder rippled through him as he saw Sadiq, pleading with him to tell him a lie. Her grip became tighter around him as she hummed against his hair, "It's ok, Neema said her's was a bit frightening as well. It'll be alright. Just-"

"She didn't come back."

Silence loomed in the air, "What do you mean?"

He raised his eyes to meet her own, worry and wonder laid within her as he sighed, "She didn't come back as Ankara. She's gone Feriah."

She sat there, shaking her head lightly as she took in what he said, "No. No she was to change and she and the baby would be with Sadiq every day and all of us girls would swoon over the baby and things would be just fine-"

"Feriah, please listen." he gripped onto her shoulders as the truth started to settle in her.

"No. No, she's alive." her lip quivered, "Please tell me that Hercules, anyone but her."

He couldn't tell her that, all he could do was shake his head at her. And with that, she shattered. The painful sob that left her broke his heart as he gathered her close. He wasn't sure what to do as she begged for it all to be a lie, that her friend was still alive as she sobbed against him. Yet there was no lie, no way to bring the cheery woman back to them all, no happy ending. Justa hell none of them were ready for. And as he rocked her to comfort, his own tears spilling, he prayed that the fuckers that did that to her, would find themselves in the deepest parts of hell and to never return.


	10. Chapter 10

There were times when she looked at the sky, she swore she could hear that woman flipping her cards over, whispering the future they gave. Her bright, happy eyes looking at her and Neema as they spoke of everything that crossed their minds. She could almost see the woman adoring her daughter with them, placing the pretty pink bows in her dark curls. 

Yet Habibah wasn't there with her. She wasn't laughing or talking away, telling of the cards or swooning over her beautiful daughter. And all it made her want to do was cry.

"There now Zehra." she heard Neema say as she stretched out the baby's legs, "Just checking you out for your baba. You gave him a scare last night."

Feriah saw the little girl squirm around as Neema buttoned up the snaps to her pajamas, almost giving a protest to leave her be. It was hard to believe that Habibah was gone yet Zehra was alive, she was everything of her mother. Her curly dark hair, her sweet wonderous eyes, even her face was just like her friends. It just hurt more every time she saw the little baby.

"Healthy as can be, sweetheart." Neema said as she rested her on her shoulder, "Want to hold her, Feriah?"

"Duh." she smiled at her, raising her arms out to her.

Not a moment too soon, there was Zerha in her arms. Her soft white clothes gentle to her touch as the little bow she placed in her curls stood out, giving her a cherub look almost. 

"God how I miss her."

She heard Neemahum in agreement, "We all do. Sadiq is getting a little better but having Dryas there along with myself and the president's and prime minister's wives. It's just a tough time. They loved her as much as we did."

Feriah listened as the baby's soft snores reached her ears, "You know, you never fully said what happened?"

"To Habibah?" the tone she had worried Feriah.

"Yea."

Neema sighed, "A mystery we never wanted to truly find out."

"How do you-"

"She changed outside the borders."

Now that set a whirl of questions in Feriah, "Changed, as into Ankara."

"Yes." Neema sat before her once more, "Her change was in Armenia, not in Turkey. It was examined that her body was trying to process the change yet couldn't for she wasn't in the nation. It just began to self-destruct. Genesis may have kidnapped her, but her death was ultimately her change."

She felt her stomach bottom on her, wanting to just forget that she ever asked the question, "So becoming Ankara killed her, what about Zerha then?"

"You don't want that one."

"Please." Feriah begged, "Hercules only told me that she was kidnapped and died, nothing more."

Neema just gave her a pained look, just to sigh, "Mother's love."

"What does that-"

"I believe Habibah knew she was going to die no matter what she did or what they did. Somehow she escaped and was only a little away from the border when Sirvat noticed her on her radar." Neema explained, "And when she found her, Zerha was already out of her body, by her own hand."

That was not what she was expecting to hear, "You mean to tell me that Habibah cut Zerha from her body?"

"The will of a mother will be stronger than anything to protect her children."

It made her heart break more, the pain and fear that filled the woman yet the determination and knowing what she was in and had to do, it gave her more of an insight of how strong Habibah really was. Feriah looked back down at Zerha, she would never know her mothers love or how strong she was, all she would have was the stories from her father and them.

"Do not think so low Feriah, Zerha is a product and survivor of love and more. As much as it hurts to have lost Habibah, we need to press on so no other capital or nation falls to this pain ever again."

Feriah smiled, knowing she was right, "Yes, that we do. And Zerha will know from us all about her mother and how much of a beautiful person she was."

"That she will." she saw the woman pat the baby's hair. "Besides, didn't you and Hercules get that ring?"

Oh, how could she had forgotten about that, "We captured half of the ring the other day, finding the main leads in Athens and then some in Volos and Kavala. All we need to do is now, gather the children up in the last place and it's done. No more slave ring in Greece."

Neema smiled at her, "Now that's good news."

"It is. I already spoke to Father Jabari last week, he said things are together for Hercules and I with his military that when we move in, it'll be done with."

She heard Neema let out a soft chuckle, "Still want to go back after learning and having so much?"

Feriah couldn't stop the grin that crossed her face, "You know at one point I did think that. To just focus on the group and do what I needed to save the children, and now. Well, I can't even imagine a day without him or any of you. Going back to the base would just bring all that I have climbed over to surface and just push me back into the hole I knew so much of yet crawled out of."

"So no then?"

"Definitely no."

A small knock came to the door, catching her off guard. Looking over, she saw one of the informants from the government building. Handing Zehra off to Neema, she saluted the man as he waited for her.

"Reason?"

"Movement." was all he gave as he nodded to her.

Now it was her moment, "Then gather the men."

 

"Once within, head five meters to the left and there should be a door there." Feriah explained to Hercules, "Once in that room, you can cut all communications and lines of any trading. It will give us everything about this ring. While you are doing that, I'll search the grounds with the main team, gathering the children in the chambers and what others we can find."

"So have you do the dangerous work while I collect papers." she heard the irritated tone in his voice.

"If it was that simple." she sighed, "Normally we have Raja or someone lure them all out and then we strike, but in this case, we have not the time or resource for it. So we are going into a building that is hot and loaded."

"And just as dangerous."

"Don't trust me?"

"I never said that." his hand cupped her cheek, "I fear what lies within that we do not see."

"Expect the unexpected Father Jabari says. Can't tell you how many extra children I have found just rounding a corner and opening a door."

His smile hit her soul, "And that's what makes you dangerous and beautiful all at once."

Feriah chuckled at him, "So if you were to say a goddess of Greek mythology, which would I be?"

He smiled at her as his green orbs looked into her, "Of all the goddesses that lace my nation, the one that stands out in my mind for you, is Artemis."

"Artemis, the goddess of the hunt?"

"Yes."

"Elaborate that then?"

"I see her for both of you see so much of the world that most cannot. You do what you can to help the pain of others, as she for childbirth, you are the suffering of children and women and men. Your heart is predominately belonging to one and if anything happens to that one I believe you would never take another."

"Correct there, I wouldn't have had anyone if it wasn't for-"

"Let's not continue that."

"Fine. Just awed you see a goddess in me."

She felt his fingers caress her cheek as the light chatter on the radio seemed faint in her ear, "Feriah, I have told you before, you are even more than a goddess to me. For you are mine. That's what makes it better."

She couldn't stop herself, grabbing his shirt, she pulled him to her, placing a delicate sweet kiss on him. The comfort and need of him just relaxed her mind as the chatter began to more intense.

"Right." she said breaking the moment, "It seems that it's time."

He gave her one more quick peck, one she could feel shoot down her spine and curl her toes. Curse him and that damn kiss. Then the heavy metal of the 1911 Sig Sauer laid in her hand as she heard him hum, "Best to have more than one in this case."

With that cheeky smile, he left to join the men on his team, leaving her with a whirling mind of him and the mission. Dear lord, how did she gain so much in such little time? Shaking her head, Feriah made her way to the men and women of her team, their eyes directly at her as they waited for commands to save lives.

"As we speak, our numbers of slaves are at most forty to fifty, ranging in ages from three to the max of twenty. This knowledge gives us a deeper intel that they have more numbers in protection than most in past. So be on guard, take out silently, and make not a word. If you need to fire your guns, do it at last possible moment. Use daggers and knives to kill, make it quick and move on. Do not sit in one area for more than a minute. The second we pass that door, the seconds start to count for the ones within for the monsters holding them will do whatever it takes to make it never seem like it existed."

Nods and small chatter came to her, a sign that they were prepared, "Right then, let's kick some ass."

Small cheers erupted from them as they readied out of the structure, just as ready as she was to deal with this group. Within minutes, they were lacing the place up, finding each door and accessing what was needed. Dropping guards and some stragglers as they patrolled, she waited with baited breath to make her move. The map clear in her head for her targets and where to point her people as Hercules's roamed the other half, destroying what life they could find of the leading scumbags and gather everything to end the ring. 

Movement here and there caught her as she watched from her hidden perch above the building. She saw Hercules and his team make their move within, silently getting into the main building. She counted backwards in her head, waiting to see what would show and come out, yet all was silent. Finally, with a quick chirp over the radio, she was given her go.

Flying from her spot, she made her way to the main door with the others, the Sig he gave her out and ready as she palmed the heavy metal. The door flew open as the first set of soldiers went in and she followed behind. They branched off like she had wanted and now she was taking her own path. She knew how they thought and what they liked to do. Quickly she found the empty hallway and listened, four soldiers following her as she waited for that familiar sound, and then it came to her. Moving quietly down, she found the door. The small whimpers within her sign that a set had been found. Lightly opening the door, she cleared the room of threats as two men sat within, yet they barely moved as she placed a quiet shot in their heads. The children's frightened gazes landed on her as she nodded to them, a spill of Greek leaving her as the other soldiers came to sight, ready to lead them all out.

One by one, she watched the children escape, the knowledge of real freedom gracing their eyes as they tried not to cry. This was what she lived for. This is what she lived, both she and Habibah and now with her gone and her little girl left with her memory, Feriah made this mission more about both of them and the greater good of the children like them.

A few moments later, she found another room, then another, and then another. The chatter on the radio gave way that Hercules and his team cleared the building of the scum and gained more than what they needed including soon to be sold children in a sex ring. Her heart and mind were in a tizzy as she pressed on, another door in sight as she cleared her finally hallway. No noise came from within, not ones she wanted most. Quietly, she pressed the door open, seeing a figure within. 

With precision and skill, she moved behind him, raising the gun higher to him as it soon rested on the back of his head.

"Statheíte akínitoi, í pethánete."

A sigh left the man, his hands raising up as she caught glimpse of a ring on his hand. No, she'd seen that ring before. New it too well.

"You really suck at observing things Feriah."

That voice, she knew it, way too well. Gun still at the ready, she threw him around to be shocked in her finding. There, right in front of her, was Zamir. HIs dark eyes looking at her as the usual gruff on his chin seemed cleaner, sharper almost.

"Zamir? What are you doing here? Father Jabari didn't say anything about you helping us?"

"Yea, about them all." he sighed, "You realize he isn't letting you back right?"

That hurt, "Yes I'm aware. What does that have to do with-"

"I mean, even if he wanted, he couldn't let you back. There isn't anything there."

"YesI know. He's moved the base and more so I wouldn't go back. I'm aware, had it dropped on me. Yet you still haven't answered my question." she said as she started to get a bit agitated with him, "What are you doing here, Zamir."

The earpiece suddenly went mad. A flurry of calls of a room full of dead bodies was found as they called Hercules to check it over and see what needed to be done. A strange, sickening filled Feriah as she looked at her old comrade.

"Zamir, I'll ask again. Why are you here?"

"They pay better."

No, no she didn't hear that. "Not only do they do that, they provide better protection and with Genesis being needy with soldiers and more, well I helped them gain soldiers for the cause."

"Zamir." she felt herself shake slightly, how could he have.

"Where is Feriah?" she heard Hercules's voice over the radio.

"What did you do Zamir?"

"What I had to."

"Where is Father Jabari? Where's is he, or Ilir or Raja? Where is our team, where is everyone?"

The sickening smile that crossed his face made her realize what she had walked into, "I think you know, capital."

"Feriah, do you hear me?" she heard Hercules call over the radio, "Get out of thee, now. We have a serious situation right now. I need you out of here."

Fury roared in her head, heartache claimed her chest as she tried to imagine him bursting into the eternal flames of hell. The dirty bastard, he set her up and anyone else that came into the building, "What did you do?"

"I just took out a cause that was no longer useful."

Feriah snapped, she nothing but red as she charged at him, screaming in anger as she brought the butt of the gun down on him. He evaded her, yet all it did was spur her on. Ripping the radio from her ear, she fought Zamir as he tried to gain his own hold on her yet she gave him no chance. She wanted him dead now. She knew what he did, anyone would have at that moment. She just couldn't believe it was them.

"Want to know what it was like to hear them all beg for life?" he joked.

Two shots echoed the building as she fired at the fucker. To hell with justice or anything, she wanted his blood to spill. He took off down the hall and she followed. She scuffled with him as he ran into a dead end, doing what she could to get what she wanted out of him. Feriah wanted to hear him beg, to plead for his life like she knew he did with them. 

"Raja was best, she pleaded for the rat within her more than anything." he said punching her in the face, "That little mutt didn't deserve to live, no matter how much of a good soldier he would've done for Genesis."

"You animal!" she screamed at him, grabbing hold of a pipe and connecting with him. "You deserved death not them!"

All she could see was Raja doing whatever she could to protect her unborn baby as Ilir either laid lifeless or helpless in Zamir's torture. She could see them all plead with their once friend, doing whatever it took to get him back to the person they knew. A sudden blow to her stomach made her lose her thought as his laughter echoed her head.

"They were nothing but dust at the bottom of a shoe!" he proclaimed to her as he tried to slam her head down on the ground, yet she evaded his grasps, headbutting him in the process.

"They were people of worth, ones that saved lives!" she shouted, "Not taking them!"

Feriah was blinded in her rage, feeling her past and present mix together as her mind tried to focus on all that was before her. She had to stay focused and keep fighting Zamir or at least finally kill him. But the more they continued to throw blows at each other, the harder it was for her mind to stay focused.

"You see, you area lost cause too." his foot connected with her chest, "You fade into the past. And this time, that old African goat can't save you."

She felt herself try and gather her breath yet it wouldn't come, she laid there gasping as pain filled her chest, the dread of broken ribs came to mind as she felt the heaviness grow.

"You really are just a pathetic excuse of a person Feriah, too bad no one said otherwise to you." he said standing over her, "The city of Athens. A capital and something Genesis wants so bad that they can taste." 

White hot pain filled her as he hoisted her against his shoulder, carrying her off and away from the building as he held something in his other hand.

"You will get me great things, now if you could just tell me where Cairo and that little city, Istanbul are, I could maybe make a deal with them to spare you. Well, you alone, not your nation."

"Fuck...you." she somehow got out.

"Well that's not nice, Greece is here. I know that much, so let's leave him a little surprise yes?" 

Looking at the heavy wall, she saw the familiar explosive devices they used in extreme moments. Jesus, if there were this many in this area, how many were all over the buildings? Somehow she gained enough energy to place the earpiece back and flip it on just to hear the madness of the group searching for her, including Hercules's panicked voice.

" Vómves mésa, vgeíte tóra."

She hoped he'd listen, that they all would as she felt Zamir drop her for a moment, "What did you say?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Typical Feriah. Want to know something, that capital Ankara, as easy as she was to capture, she was as stubborn as you. But of all things, she told us to leave you alone along with Cairo. You must've meant a lot to her."

Feriah looked up at him, feeling rage burn within her veins. The fucker, he took her, he killed Habibah and nearly Zehra. She wanted him dead and there was only one other piece left she had hidden on her. As quick as she could, she unsheathed the dagger she took from Hercules's office and driving the short kopis into his gut. Taking her free hand, she was determined that no one else would ever get hurt by him.

"That we were." she said, Habibah flashing in her mind, "So now if I die, you will die with me, asshole."

She said a small prayer in her head as he tried to fight her for the device, knowing that she would not only see her dreams in life, but Habibah once more, and then she pushed the button. The deafening sounds of the explosions went off as the building shook and rattled with her and Zamir in the entrance way. She felt herself become airborne with him, only to land outside in a painful heap. She tried to move, yet everything felt like fire within her, her chest even heavier as a strange numbing filled her veins. Somehow she moved her hand to her back as she felt something pinching her, only then did she feel the heavy shrapnel in her back. Well fuck, maybe she really was going to meet them, she felt her breath grow heavy as the world slowly faded in an out, shouts of survivors and soldiers growing faint as those sweet giggles claimed her hearing once more. And then, she let the pain fade, along with her body.

 

He prayed. Prayed that she wasn't in the explosion, that she was safe, that she didn't know that he had found her team in pieces in another room. Hercules just prayed that Feriah was alive and just waiting for him. But the area she was in was nothing more but slowly falling rubble. Dread filled him as the more he looked the more he realized that she was in the blast.

"No Feriah, where are you?" 

He was ready to just freak out, to search every inch of the place for her yet it wasn't long as two bodies caught his sight, mangled and bloodied, yet one stood out from the other.

"Feriah." he ran over, "Feriah!"

Sure enough, as he and the others crossed the way to see her on the ground, "Ochi, Feriah!"

Not her, not Feriah, not this. Anything but this. He saw his old dagger sunk into the man's gut as it's scabbard was on her hip. That must've been why her line was quiet, she was fighting him and she had to have learned of the others with it. The marks upon her body were not only of the explosion but a fight as well. Only then did he see the blood from behind her.

"Feriah, please." he pleaded with her, lifting her to see the shrapnel pieces littering her back and side, "Oh god no."

He was too late, he was late again. He lost his mother, watched loves pass on when he said not a word to them, he lost friends and words he wished to take back and after losing Habibah, he was going to lose her as well. Why did this have to happen? He heard the others speak lightly to him as he tried to find a breath, even a pulse from her, yet she was silent. No more witty comebacks or even being called lazy. She was really gone.

Hercules couldn't move, he was stuck in his mind and hurt as it all rolled through him, "Feriah, you promised you wouldn't leave me. You said you wouldn't be like the others. God, please come back to me."

He held her close, praying for anything but gained nothing. The soldiers let him be as they finished what was needed, yet he didn't care. All he wanted was Feriah to come back and one thing came to mind.

"Andromeda?" he whispered out, "Mother?"

He waited for her, hoping that if anything, she would answer him, "Parakaló, mitéra. Please, I beg you, I need you."

The scent of flowers caressed him as her once warm touch graced his cheek, "My son."

"Please, bring her back to me. I cannot lose another, I have lost so much love, I don't think I can handle it again."

"It is not up to me."

"What?" his head shot up, finally seeing the spirit of his mother, "What do you mean?"

"Hercules, the man that she killed was intending to not only take her but gather Cairo and Istanbul with a few other capitals to be with cities. She sacrificed herself to save them. So like the German woman, she waits on the breath to make her choice. I have no direction in this."

His heart nearly shattered, she was making a choice to either stay or pass on?

"Hercules, you worry too much." he felt his mother kiss his forehead, "I know what Feriah sees and wants, and what I know is something you should not fear." 

And then she was gone. Leaving him questioning more than before until a shaky breath and cough caught him. His eyes landed on Feriah, holding her tight to him as her green eyes looked up at him

"Holy shit, that was a trip."

For once, he couldn't help himself as he laughed at her, the same wittiness within her as he kissed her, feeling her pulse under his hand.

"You chose me."

She smiled at him, "Well duh, why wouldn't I?"

He shook his head at her as her smile filled him with a knowing happiness, "Oh and one other thing."

"And what's that?" he felt a strange calm come from her as she looked up at him, one that made his heart hurt and yet feel good all at once.

"Habibah says she loves us all."


	11. Chapter 11

Days come and days go, each settling in a rhythm that most can dance along with or falter to their own steps, and for Feriah, it was a dance she didn't want to come out of. So much had happened in the years of becoming a capital, standing on the breath of God and seeing Habibah once more, yet she wouldn't have changed it for the world.

The small grunt of anger pulled her mind back to its place of time, "Alright Oceania, I know I got lost in thought. You are more me than your father in attitude."

She smiled down at her little girl as she finished tying the last piece up, hoping to ready the day without any hiccups. Let it be known that she thought a house full of children would be an amazing thing, but the moment Apollo learned to walk, she slowly dismissed that idea as she and Hercules found themselves running rampant behind him. Finally finsihed, she looked down at her daughter as green eyes looked back at her.

"What are you thinking Oceania? Do you want to see our new friend?" she asked her little girl just to gain a small smile from her, "I thought so. You and I have a mommy/daughter day while baba and Apollo play, huh."

Lifting Oceania to her shoulder, she wandered out of their home as she heard Cassiopeia follow behind her, "Look here, spoiled, I already gave you love this morning, wait till children are in bed."

Hearing the high pitch squeal of her son, Feriah found the two boys in the pool as Hercules attempted to teach him to swim.

"How are today's lessons baba?" she called out as Apollo let another shrill out of happiness.

"Hi, mamá !"

"Pretty good, a bit better than your first but he's not afraid." Hercules replied as he held up the little boy, "What are you two girls dressed up for?"

"Nothing much, just a day with her around Athens, enjoying what we can before more garbage hits the fan."

"You know I'd rather you have me or someone follow to make sure you're ok." she heard worry lacing his tone.

"I'm fine Hercules. They know better than to screw with me. Besides, I'm just going right to Mythos, not that far."

She saw him fight within himself to let them go, she didn't blame him really, after Bejing and Habibah and recently adding Tokyo, he was a tad frightened to let her out of his sight, let alone do much without him near.

"Is there anyone else going to be there?"

"Yes, a possible capital."

"Oh." there was the key that would get to him, "Know which one?"

"No, not, yet." she said as she approached the side of the pool, kneeling down to look at her handsome boys, "But I'm hoping I will after today. She seems pretty determined to understand what's going on."

"Well, in that case, it's good. The more capitals learn of what's to come the better." he nodded as Apollo looked up at her.

"Mamá? We have new friends?"

"I hope so sweetie, you love having new friends huh?"

"Yes!" he shouted happily.

"I can tell." Hercules stated as he rubbed his ear.

Feriah couldn't help but smile at what she had before her, awed that it was still all real. From being a survivor of a slave-ring o shutting them down and suffering from PTSD to now being Athens and having not just a wonderful husband but two beautiful children to boot, she was just amazed how her life turned out.

"You thinking in that pretty head of yours?" she heard him ask.

"When don't I?"

He grew closer to her as she saw that mischievous smile cross his lips, one she knew would give her something sweet. Leaning lightly, she felt his lips grace hers in a tender kiss, the same one she could feel curl her toes and send a small shiver down her spine. This is where she knew she was the luckiest, for with him everything she had now was possible and god did she love it.

"Alright, but don't be too long, I'm not one to sound controlling but with Genesis and such being around-"

"Yes Hercules, I know. You want your girls safe." she finsihed for him, "Believe me, I'm locked and loaded and ready to go with anyone that wants to tangle with me."

He chuckled at her as she gave one more kiss to him and her son, leaving the two of them to play the afternoon away. Well, she hoped they would, for it would tire Apollo out and give her and him some much needed time alone until Oceania woke.

Walking the streets of the capital, she felt a strange ease come over her. Her people calm and enjoying the day as she had some stop her in awe over her little girl, speaking of how beautiful she was and how lucky she was to be so blessed. Yes, Feriah knew how blessed she was. And in truth, she was hoping this woman could bless another.

Finally at the cafe, she waited as Oceania gazed around the area, trying to see what she could as she tried to soothe her. She waited patiently, after hearing from the hospital of the woman that dreamed, it had to be something that most couldn't make up. Especially one thing.

"Excuse me?" she heard someone say, "Are you Feriah?"

Looking up, she saw a shy blonde woman looking down at her, her eyes hidden by the sunglasses as she clutched her bag tightly to her body. It was her.

"Yes, please have a seat." she smiled at her, "I don't bite, I promise."

With shaky steps of nervousness, she sat down before her as Oceania gave a small coo at her, "My god, she's beautiful. Yours?"

Feriah smiled, "That she is. Say hello Oceania."

The woman smiled brightly at her as Oceania wrapped her fingers around her own, "My goodness, what a pretty name too."

Once she calmed, Feriah began her work, "So, if I'm correct by the staff, you are Aphrodite?"

"Yes." she pulled her hair forward as she straightened her glasses.

"Guessing you want to be discreet."

"It's nothing against you, I promise, just bad things have happened and I don't trust most people."

"I've read your report, I truly don't blame you."

She shook her head, "Yet I don't think you are going to put me in a special place for protection are you?"

"Not just yet." Feriah replied, "Just tell me what you told them."

Aphrodite gave a small sigh, "The first time I was placed in a coma I came awake with dreams. None of my own but like I was reliving history within then. Then another and another. It was something that frightened me yet awed me. Like I needed to see those women, for with them it gave me confidence and power I never knew I had."

Feriah listened deeply, waiting for the one piece she knew so well, "But then the last time I was placed in a coma and awoke, I gained another. Not like the rest for she was so gentle and kind. All I wanted to do was be friends with her. She just had it, so beautiful and happy yet deep in her you knew there was sadness and heartache that you had to fix. And dammit I was going to fix it."

"Tell me about her, what makes her stand out the most?"

"The longing of love and comfort in her eyes, like she wants to hold something yet can't." she told her, her eyes looming over the table as her hands moved just like hers, "And those cards. Every time I saw her, she was flipping cards over and reading them to me."

That was all she wanted to hear, dear god she wanted to just jump in the air and dance with that bit of knowledge.

"So, I knowI'm crazy but you seem to know how to help me."

"Oh, I do."

"Really?" Aphrodite lit up, "Then where do I need to go to escape and help them out?"

Feriah smiled at her, "That, Aphrodite, is the nation of Turkey."

 

 

Fin


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